Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh walking down a hallway at the team facilities.
It looks like a key member of the New York Jets is on his way back to recovery.
Veteran offensive tackle Duane Brown reshared an eight-second workout clip on his Instagram story from Pro-Active SP.
Wowsa #Jets OT Duane Brown (@DuaneBrown76) is getting stronger ahead of year No. 17 & is looking ready for #JetsCamp 👀 🎥 proactivesp #TakeFlight
A 6-foot-4, 329-pound hog molly lifting an ordinary dumbell on the surface doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. However, that is the same arm that Brown had surgically repaired this offseason.
Rich Cimini of ESPN said Brown had surgery to repair “a torn left rotator cuff” this offseason in an article posted on March 5.
Brown Recovery Timeline, X-Factor for 2023 Season
The 37-year-old who will turn 38 before the start of the 2023 season tore his rotator cuff working out in September ahead of the Week 1 matchup versus the Baltimore Ravens.
Brown was faced with a choice at that moment. He could have had surgery but that would have immediately ended his season with the Jets. Or he could let it rest and attempt to play through it.
Brown opted for the latter and was placed on injured reserve. He missed the first four games of the season and returned in Week 5.
All in all, Brown appeared and started in 12 games during the 2022 season.
The former Virginia Tech product didn’t play at his prior All-Pro level, but he was serviceable for the Jets. Especially considering he played through an entire campaign with one arm.
After the season concluded the big man decided to have surgery and continue his NFL career in 2023.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh confirmed that Mekhi Becton will be ready for #JetsCamp in July but he couldn’t say the same for Duane Brown, ‘we think he is, but I can’t verify’ 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
Both head coach Robert Saleh and Brown himself were non-committal when asked if he would be ready for training camp in mid-July.
#Jets OT Duane Brown (@DuaneBrown76) believes he has ‘plenty left’ in the tank & confirmed he never seriously considered retirement this offseason + said he has accomplished all the individual goals but wants a #SuperBowl + NYJ ‘has a great shot to win’ 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
While that portion of the exam is still unclear, this workout video certainly is a positive sign that a comeback is getting closer to reality.
Worst Kept Secret on 1 Jets Drive
Jets team reporters Ethan Greenberg and Eric Allen predicted who the Jets’ offensive starters would be in 2023 for a video series posted on YouTube.
They both agreed that Brown is “penciled in” as the starter at left tackle.
“That was the last place that we saw Duane Brown line up and he hasn’t played any other spot since he was like a sophomore [in college],” Greenberg explained.
#Jets OT Duane Brown said he hasn’t played right tackle since ‘junior year maybe sophomore year in college’ + his focus is on getting healthy + was non-committal on being ready for training camp + we’ll see how things play out w/ competition vs Mekhi Becton 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
Coach Saleh said that Brown would be a “hard out” at left tackle meaning someone would have to really impress to take that job away from him.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh was asked if it’s realistic that Duane Brown could play RT in 2023 considering he hasn’t played the position since college, ‘I have a feeling Duane will be a hard out’ [at left tackle] + @Connor_J_Hughes asked for clarity on that, ‘he’s going to be hard to…
“This is his 16th year in the National Football League, he has never started anywhere but left tackle and he’s played more than 200 regular season games there,” Allen said on the show.
Brown has exclusively played left tackle in the NFL, the same can’t be said for Becton.
Last year at the start of training camp the coaching staff revealed that Becton was being flipped to the other side of the formation. That is something he worked on last offseason and was going to be the starting right tackle prior to his season-ending injury in August.
.@eallenjets said #Jets OT Mekhi Becton (@BigTicket73) is the guy you have to watch out for this year, ‘he looks like he’s ready to play some power forward basketball’ + @EGreenbergJets is trying to get the ‘Slim Ticket’ nickname to stick 🤣 predicted to start at RT 🎥 @nyjets…
Saleh hasn’t revealed his cards yet for this offseason but it feels inevitable that history will repeat itself and Becton will find his way back to the right side.