ESPN

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- It doesn't sound like Stephen Hill will be on the field Sunday against the 49ers.

The rookie wideout suffered a hamstring injury in the Jets' win over the Dolphins and Rex Ryan didn't seem optimistic about his status for Week 4.

"That's a hamstring on a skilled athlete, so we'll see about this week. He might be kind of iffy for this week," Ryan said.

Hill, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound rookie, has largely been a non-factor for the past two weeks.

Against Miami, he was targeted seven times but had no receptions. He had a dropped touchdown pass as well.

Chaz Schilens will likely replace Hill. Schilens played 40 snaps against Miami, finishing with two catches for 16 yards.

Hill has been held without a catch for the past two weeks.

Hill's production (or lack thereof) comes as a bit of a surprise considering his Week 1 performance.

The former Georgia Tech star caught five balls for 89 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets' win over Buffalo.

Though, it should be noted, he did it against Bills rookie CB Stephon Gilmore.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- There was action before, during and after practice on Thursday here at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.

Before practice, coach Rex Ryan revealed that Wayne Hunter has lost his starting job at right tackle in favor of Austin Howard.

After practice, Santonio Holmes declared himself fit to play Sunday night against the Carolina Panthers.

In between, the Jets worked out for 2½ hours Thursday afternoon in front of a few hundred fans as training camp winds to a close. They got to see Howard take all the reps with the first unit, and Holmes get a few live reps as well -- wearing a red no-contact jersey -- as he continues to recover from a rib injury.

In terms of other practice observations:

INJURY REPORT: RB Joe McKnight, who missed Wednesday's practice with shin splints, was back on the field, but limited. S LaRon Landry was also limited for precautionary reasons. ... TE Jeff Cumberland, WR Patrick Turner, WR Chaz Schilens, DT Sione Pouha, CB Ellis Lankster and LB Ricky Sapp did not practice.

GROUND AND POUND: The Jets worked extensively on their running game Thursday. Gang Green averaged just 1.8 yards per carry in Saturday night's preseason loss to the Giants, gaining 58 yards on 32 totes.

OPPOSITE SIDES: The first-team offense and first-team defense rarely matched up against each other Thursday. The Jets were likely preparing for Sunday night's game against the Panthers, having the first-stringers face scout teams.

THE HIGHLIGHT? Mark Sanchez completed a beautiful pass over the middle to Royce Pollard on one of the few plays when both the first-team offense and first-team defense matched up against each other, in 11-on-11 drills. Pollard went high to reel in the ball, in between safeties Yeremiah Bell and Josh Bush. Sanchez was fired up after the play.

On the day, Sanchez completed four of seven passes against the first-team defense. Tim Tebow went 2-for-3 against them, with a sack.

In 7-on-7 drills, LB David Harris dropped a gimme interception thrown by Tebow. But he made up for it with a nice pick on a pass thrown by Greg McElroy. Rookie LB Demario Davis also had an interception late in practice, in 11-on-11 drills.

THE KICKING GAME: Nick Folk nailed all three of his field goal attempts at the end of practice, including one from 53 yards away. Josh Brown also connected from 53 yards, but missed a shorter attempt.

REMEMBER ME? Former Jets offensive tackle Damien Woody, now an ESPN analyst, visited practice on Thursday, along with his two sons. Kind of ironic, considering this was the day the Jets made a switch at Woody's former position.

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Santonio Holmes, suffering from what he described as general leg soreness and tightness, sat out Thursday as the Jets continued to practice with an injury-plagued receiving corps.

Holmes, speaking to reporters afterward, offered little insight into his condition, saying only that he'll return when he gets the go-ahead from the trainers. He said there was no need to push it because the emphasis in practice was on short-yardage and goal-line.

TACKLE FOOTBALL: For the first time in camp, the Jets conducted live drills in goal-line and short yardage. With Mark Sanchez at QB, the offense scored on two of three plays (not counting a false-start penalty) inside the 5. Sanchez scored on a play-action boot and RB Shonn Greene scored on a 2-yard dive. Greene also was stuffed for no gain.

With Tim Tebow at quarterback, the second-team offense scored on three of four plays, the lone hiccup a fumble by rookie RB Terrance Ganaway. Tebow scored on a play-action boot, threw a short TD to Josh Baker on a play-action rollout and -- in the moment of the day -- ran up the middle for a TD out of the Wildcat formation. Tebow, in shotgun, took a direct snap, fake a handoff and ran a power play up the middle -- the first Wildcat play of camp.

TEBOW STARS: This may have been Tebow's best practice in terms of throwing the ball. In team drills, he completed two of three passes. In 7-on-7 drills, he was 5-for-6. He saw the field well, threw nice spirals and didn't take forever to release the ball. Maybe the QB clock helped; they used a buzzer to help the quarterbacks speed up their delivery.

BRINGING THE HEAT: It doesn't look like the defense will have to surrender the coveted black jerseys anytime soon. The first- and second-team units used heavy blitzing to generate serious pressure on Sanchez and Tebow. Unofficially, Sanchez was sacked twice, Tebow three times.

The sacks were recorded by OLB Aaron Maybin (two), CB Ellis Lankster, OLB Ricky Sapp and S Antonio Allen. At times, it was a jailbreak, as the offense really struggled with its protection schemes. There were free rushers coming from all angles. On one play, Maybin almost hit Sanchez out of the pocket (QBs are off limits). CB Darrelle Revis must have said something to Maybin because the loud linebacker barked back at Revis, insisting he didn't touch Sanchez.

INJURY REPORT: Aside from Holmes, WR Chaz Schilens (groin) and S LaRon Landry (foot) were among those that didn't practice. Landry worked off to the sideline, running long sprints during practice ... NT Kenrick Ellis hurt his leg in goal line and limped off, but he returned ... RB Joe McKnight returned to practice after a bout with food poisoning.

TEMPERS FLARE: There were a couple of minor scuffles in practice. Rookie DT Damon Harrison got into it with OT Austin Howard, with Maybin jumping into the fray. Order was quickly restored.

THIS AND THAT: Howard continued to get reps at right tackle, although incumbent Wayne Hunter still got the bulk of the work ... Bad practice for Ganaway, who had a fumble and a dropped pass. He's getting some work at fullback.

Jets training camp opens on July 25 and Rich Cimini is keeping his eye on Chaz Schilens.