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On Wednesday, December 8 New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh surprisingly announced that rookie offensive tackle Max Mitchell would miss the rest of the season.
He didn’t provide any additional details on the matter outside of saying that the former Louisiana product would be placed on the NFI list.
A day later, Connor Hughes of SNY provided some clarity on the situation:
“Max Mitchell was placed on the NFI because doctors found he had blood clots, sources tell SNY. He is good and in good spirits. Grateful doctors caught them when they did.”
Hughes added that this situation is not believed to be “long-term” or a “career-threatening issue.”
Robert Saleh’s Comments on Jets OT Max Mitchell Make More Sense
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, players typically go on the NFI list if they have “an illness or medical condition, or if they suffer an injury away from the team facility.”
With this new update from Hughes, everything Saleh said during his Wednesday press conference makes a lot more sense.
Saleh said he wasn’t going to get into details on why they were placing Mitchell on the NFI list.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said rookie OT Max Mitchell will be placed on the NFI list & will be out for the year + “I’m not going to get into details on what that is right now.” 😳
The only thing Saleh would share is that this is a “non-football-related” issue and that he wouldn’t be getting into any specific details right now because “there are still a lot of things we’re trying to sort out and for him.”
Mitchell will miss the rest of the 2022 season but it appears that there is a good chance he will be able to return for the 2023 campaign.
Jets Dealt With a Similar Situation With Vinny Curry
This very scary situation feels eerily similar to the one the Jets went through with veteran defensive lineman Vinny Curry.
The longtime NFL’er signed a one-year deal for $1.3 million in March of 2021. He was supposed to be a key cog in their defensive line rotation but something prevented that from happening.
During a routine medical check during the Summer of 2021, the Jets found something that raised a few eyebrows.
“Jets doctors first discovered a rare blood disorder in Curry last June. That led to the removal of his spleen in July. A blood clot then developed because Curry misunderstood how long he was supposed to take blood thinners,” per Brian Costello of the New York Post.
Fortunately, in a very similar sense, the Jets’ doctors were able to catch it early and prevent something much more serious from transpiring.
Curry after taking a year away from football was able to return to the game he loves in 2022. The Jets were able to re-sign him to another one-year deal for $1.12 million.
Curry has been a part of this rotation appearing in seven games this season and has played in 28 percent of the defensive snaps.
Not all cases are the same obviously but we can only hope that Mitchell at just 23 years of age can bounce back from this and have a long productive career.
With the future at offensive tackle very much up in the air, Mitchell appears set to be the team’s long-term answer at right tackle.
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Jets Rookie Receives Positive News on Potentially ‘Career-Threatening’ Issue