NFL Nation

          Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (thumb), RB Zac Stacy (ankle) have surgery

          And on the morning after, two players went to the operating room.

          New York Jets running back Zac Stacy underwent season-ending surgery Friday to repair a fractured ankle and, as expected, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had surgery to fix a torn ligament in his left thumb. The team expects Fitzpatrick to start the next game, Nov. 22 at the Houston Texans, his previous team.

          "Yeah, that's the plan," Jets coach Todd Bowles said Friday on a conference call.

          Bowles also expressed concern about wide receiver Eric Decker, who has a "pretty sore" shoulder and is receiving treatment. Fortunately for the Jets, they're on a mini-bye week.

          Stacy will be placed on injured reserve, leaving the Jets with three running backs -- Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell and Stevan Ridley. Stacy's injury isn't crushing because Powell is expected to return from an ankle injury. He can go back to being the third-down back, a role Stacy had assumed. Ridley, recently activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list, finally got a chance to play on Thursday night -- three carries for minus-1 yard in the 22-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

          Stacy's injury will be felt more on special teams. He was the primary kickoff returner in recent weeks, replacing the injured Chris Owusu. In fact, Stacy got hurt on a kickoff return. Now what? They can resort to Kenbrell Thompkins, who started Thursday night, or give rookie Devin Smith another shot. He, of course, coughed up a fumble that was returned for a Buffalo touchdown.

          Stacy will be the eighth player to go on injured reserve. Bowles agonized over the decision to put guard Willie Colon (knee) on IR.

          "It's one of the hardest things I've had to do here because he's such a warrior," Bowles said.

          Colon's right knee, injured in Week 3, has been getting worse, according to Bowles, who said the knee had to be drained of fluid. Colon is 32, and it's possible he could retire. He likely will require surgery at some point.

          "Knowing a guy had to go out like that, you never want to tell a guy that he has to go on IR, especially since he has played a ton of years," Bowles said.

          Other players on IR: