Jets' Sauce Gardner (hamstring), Breece Hall (knee) doubtful for Sunday vs. Dolphins

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Sunday might just introduce a new level of bleak to these Jets.

Cornerback Sauce Gardner (hamstring) and running back Breece Hall (knee) are doubtful for their Week 14 matchup against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, interim coach Jeff Ulrich said Friday, and Pro Bowl linebacker C.J. Mosley (neck) is headed to the injured reserve list, all but ending his season.

To add to the misery, a loss or tie will spell the official end to the Jets’ microscopic playoff hopes. That would make it 14 straight years without a trip to the postseason, which would be the longest active drought of any team among the four major sports.

Gardner’s absence poses a significant issue as the secondary attempts to contain Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who have totaled almost 1,300 receiving yards.

Hall hurt the same left knee in which he suffered a torn ACL in his rookie season. “There’s a little bit of an MCL, a little bit of a hyperextension,” Ulbrich said. “Not feeling quite right.”

He said there is almost no chance of either playing “barring something magical happening in the next couple days.”

Brandin Echols is expected to start in Gardner’s place. The Jets will attempt to compensate for Hall’s absence in the aggregate, likely tapping rookies Isaiah Davis and Braelon Allen and kick returner/running back Kene Nwangwu, who was signed off the practice squad this week. Nwangwu made his memorable Jets debut last week, returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

“Hate to overuse a word, but we are fortunate in . . . running back depth minus Breece, who in my opinion is one of the best backs in this league,” Ulbrich said. “We still have one of the best running back rooms in the NFL without him, so excited about their ops, excited about Kene’s ops. Those guys will take care of business.”

Hall first landed on the injury report after the Jets’ Week 12 bye and played in Week 13 but didn’t practice this week. He had two fumbles in the game against the Seahawks, with the second one leading to Seattle’s comeback victory. Hall then told reporters that this has been “the most trying year of [his] life.”

Mosley’s move to injured reserve, while not wholly unexpected, is another psychological blow. The defense has given up game-winning fourth-quarter drives to four teams this year and Mosley, its leader, hasn’t been on the field for any of them. He’s played a little more than 100 snaps this season, first dealing with a toe injury and now the herniated disc in his neck.

It was “a hard decision by a very prideful, amazing player, leader, all those things for us,” Ulbrich said. “It was not an easy decision for him, but it’s the best decision for him and our organization.”

The injury also calls into question the five-time Pro Bowler’s future with the franchise. Mosley will be 33 in June, is entering his Age 33 year and the Jets are in a time of flux, with searches for a new coach and general manager on the horizon.

Notes & quotes: The Jets will activate wide receiver Allen Lazard (chest) off IR and he’s expected to play for the first time since Week 7. He has 30 catches for 412 yards and five touchdowns this year. “Obviously, him and Aaron [Rodgers] have a long history and have a real connection,’’ Ulbrich said. “and you see it and feel it when those two are on the field together. He wanted to keep building upon that connection and he was having a good year, but excited to get back into the fold and he’s looked good this past week.” . . . OL Wes Schweitzer (finger) will be activated off IR. OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), OL Olu Fashanu (toe), OL Moses Morgan (knee, shoulder), OL Xavier Newman (groin) and CB Qwan’tez Stiggers (illness) are all questionable but “trending in the right direction,” Ulbrich said.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.