When news broke earlier tonight that Wayne Hunter would be missing the Family Night practice at MetLife Stadium, wheels started spinning … what did this mean for the team’s embattled starting right tackle, and what did it mean for the Jets?

According to a source the Star-Ledger’s Jenny Vrentas spoke with, Hunter’s absence tonight didn’t have any bearing on Hunter’s status with the team moving forward.  ”"It’s personal,” Ryan told reporters tonight regarding Hunter’s absence, “I’m not going to get into it.  It’s between Wayne and I.  I’ll just say, he was here for meetings, and I was OK with him missing practice today.”  Ryan stated that he expected Hunter to be back on the field tomorrow and that he expects that Hunter will take first team reps this weekend.

Ryan also denounced any reports that Chris Mortensen might have made, saying that while the organization is always on the lookout to find better talent, the team isn’t in a serious search for a player to become a starter at the tackle spot. Ryan stated that “if there is something out there, at this time people are looking to move a player or this player, but right now to say that we are in the market for a starting right tackle, I don’t believe that to be an accurate statement.”

Brian Bassett, theJetsBlog.com

Ryan is leaving it as the player’s call on whether or not he explains his reasoning for missing practice.  If Hunter is in fact back with the team tomorrow, he will have to face the press sooner or later and so more answers might be forthcoming.  It might just be something innocuous like a family commitment – but it sure seems like odd timing to miss a practice.