OAKLAND, Calif. — ArDarius Stewart knows what it will feel like to score his first NFL touchdown because he sort of already did.
The rookie Jets wide receiver reached the end zone last week … for a moment. In the third quarter, Stewart dove for the pylon for what was initially ruled a 9-yard touchdown. But the play was reviewed and Stewart was ruled out at the 1.
“I was looking at the ref, trying to figure out what he was going to do,” Stewart said. “He put his two hands up and I was like ‘I’m in.’ Then I looked at it on the and I was like, ‘No, I’m out. I stepped out by an inch.’ ”
Now, Stewart has to wait for his real first touchdown.
“I’m waiting for the real debut,” he said.
The meeting with the Raiders this week is special for Stewart because of who is on the other sideline. Raiders receiver Amari Cooper was the top receiver at Alabama when Stewart arrived on campus in 2013. The duo spent two years together, with Stewart, who was a high school quarterback, learning how to play the position from Cooper.
“He’s a quiet guy, but I learned a lot from him just being around him and being a young kid not knowing how to play receiver for real,” Stewart said. “Switching from quarterback to receiver, he helped me out a lot. I took a lot of his game and just tried to mimic it the best I could. He did a lot for me.”
Stewart said Cooper’s creativity is what separates him.
“All his routes looked the same, but he did something different with them,” Stewart said. “He was hard to cover and he’s still hard to cover. He’s always trying to up his game and be that elite receiver that he is.”
After the game, Stewart said he will seek Cooper out on the field and exchange jerseys.
“I’ve got to get that jersey,” Stewart said.
The Jets signed OLB Freddie Bishop and DL Lawrence Thomas off of their practice squad for Sunday’s game. They waived/injured LB Edmond Robinson.