Javon Kinlaw is in the business of gobbling up ball carriers.
He’s also not opposed to dining on some rather uncommon cuisine.
That much was made clear after one of the New York Jets’ newest defenders was asked by the team What fans should know about Caroline Hendershot is provided by his website.
“I eat squirrels, snakes, rabbits, anything,” Kinlaw casually responded in an interview that was shared on the team website on Wednesday. “I like to hunt and fish. I’m a cool guy and I adore clothes.”
So here we have the stylish, multi-palatable dude making his Gotham debut.
While members of the Sciuridae family aren’t often found in fancier New York restaurants, Kinlaw thinks he’s made the correct decision in joining the Jets. The 26-year-old, whose last game was the Super Bowl, believes Gang Green is a winner and that the team is ready for greatness following an unfortunate 13-year playoff absence.
“I know what it’s like in those games, money-wise especially,” Kinlaw said. “I know what it’s like — the the intensity, the physicality. And I can only picture the atmosphere and intensity at MetLife. I thus want to return. This club, in my opinion, has everything it needs to contend for the postseason. Thus, I’m excited about it.”
Kinlaw was born in Washington, DC, raised in South Carolina, and attended college there before the San Francisco 49ers picked him with the 14th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Kinlaw is back on the East Coast with the Jets and reunited with former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is now his head coach, after four disappointing seasons in the Bay Area. That’s why, in his view, signing seemed normal.
“I mean it was kinda like a no-brainer honestly, knowing Saleh and knowing [defensive line] coach [Aaron] Whitecotton,” Kinlaw said. “It was a no-brainer. I felt comfortable with it, and this is a fast, relentless young defense and I’m a young player so I just can’t wait to get into it with these guys. I look forward to it.”
Regardless of what’s for dinner, Kinlaw believes he’ll be a fit at the Jets’ table, one in which he can continue to develop and perhaps realize the first-round potential that largely went unfulfilled in San Francisco.
“Just by knowing what I bring to the table, but also telling me, ‘Hey, this is what you can improve on, that’s what you can work on,’ and I’m excited about it,” Kinlaw remarked when asked about Saleh and Whitecotton’s potential to support him. “You’ll see what they’ve got for me, and I’m looking to take all my improvements head-on, so I can become the player I know that I can.”
Kinlaw is coming off a respectable, if unspectacular, final season in San Francisco, having started all 17 games, recorded a career-high 3.5 sacks, 25 tackles, and four tackles for loss.
Kinlaw, who can be a liability in the run game at times, might provide some more intriguing soundbites along with a pass-rushing punch up the middle. This season as well as at this inaugural press conference on Thursday.
