Getty New England Patriots offensive lineman Trent Brown observing things from the sideline of an NFL game.
The New York Jets have been getting their tuchus handed to them by the injury gods.
One body blow after another has piled in over the last few months crippling this team before their 2021 season has even really gotten started.
They say what comes around, goes around and it finally seems some of that negative energy has finally shifted to the opposing sideline for once.
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Big Man Down for New England
Late on Saturday afternoon, the Patriots ruled out their starting right tackle Trent Brown with a calf injury.
He started off his career as a day three pick of the San Francisco 49ers and ultimately was traded a few years later to the Patriots. After a dominant 2018 campaign that ended with a Super Bowl championship, the big man reached free agency and got handed a duffle bag filled with $66 million by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Things didn’t go well on the west coast and in a rare occurrence, Brown was traded back to the Patriots this offseason for a 2022 fifth-round draft choice.
He’s an imposing figure at 6-foot-8, 380 pounds and with him out of the lineup, things just got that much more difficult in the trenches.
New England beat reporter Mike Reiss says Yasir Durant is “the top candidate to start” in his place on Sunday.
The 23-year-old was an undrafted free agent signing by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and was traded this offseason to the Patriots in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick.
He got his first NFL reps this past week when he stepped in for the injured Brown playing in 23 snaps vs the Miami Dolphins.
A Chance at Redemption for a Highly Touted Unit
The Jets entered the 2021 season with one of the top defensive lines in the NFL, but the hype didn’t live up to the reality in Week 1 vs the Carolina Panthers.
After 60 minutes of game action, the green and white finished with one sack, that’s it.
In any given week that would be a disappointing result, especially considering the Panthers were dealing with a variety of offensive line issues.
It was an underwhelming performance from several key studs including the most important cog, Quinnen Williams.
Heading into the year it was supposed to be the Williams and Carl Lawson show, but we were robbed of that because of a ruptured Achilles. That put all the pressure squarely on the former Alabama star’s shoulders.
In Week 1 it was a total dud.
Now heading into Week 2 there’s a huge chance for redemption. The Patriots are a wounded animal in the trenches and this is a great opportunity to pin the ears back and go buck wild.
If that wasn’t enough, the Jets are also facing off against a rookie quarterback. Mac Jones isn’t just an ordinary passer either, he has the mobility of a parked car.
This is great news for the green and white defensive line because you know Jones isn’t going to be scrambling around back there. If Williams can create an interior rush up front, Jones won’t have a pocket to step up into and that’s where the Jets can win this game.
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