IK Enemkpali to Serve as Captain for Bills vs. Jets

Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan has an idea how to knock the New York Jets out of second place in the AFC East: Name the man who coldcocked their quarterback a team captain.  

In a classic bit of Ryan trollery, the 52-year-old said IK Enemkpali will serve as a Bills team captain for Thursday's game with his former team, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com on Monday. Enemkpali, of course, was released by the Jets during training camp for punching and breaking the jaw of quarterback Geno Smith during an argument over money.

Smith commented on his former teammate being named captain on Tuesday, per Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday:

The Bills claimed the second-year linebacker off waivers in August. He served a four-game suspension for punching Smith and has recorded two tackles in three appearances since joining the 53-man roster.

While Ryan will likely play down the move publicly, there's no question it was calculated with the intent to needle his opposition. The Jets fired Ryan after six seasons following a 4-12 campaign in 2014 in which the roster obviously lacked talent on both sides of the ball. New York has rebounded to a 5-3 start under new coach Todd Bowles, while Ryan has his Bills at 4-4 despite them being riddled with injuries.

Jets receiver Brandon Marshall commented on Ryan's tactics, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News: "Typical Rex. Are you guys surprised? ... He has the balls to do it."

Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo believed Ryan crossed the line with the gesture:

On Tuesday, Ryan told reporters the selection "was never a thing of disrespect so it's hard for me to understand all of the talk."

Neither of these teams appears to be a Super Bowl contender, but after weeks of mundane Thursday night action, we might actually have something to look forward to in Week 10.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.