The New York Jets have had a rash of injuries on the offensive line.
That has forced the team to evaluate the available options in free agency. According to the NFL’s transaction report, Gang Green worked out two hog mollies: Chris Glaser and Caleb Benenoch.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero tweeted on August 8 that the Jets ended up signing Benenoch to a one-year deal.
Veteran OL Caleb Benenoch is signing one-year deal with #Jets, per source.
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Give Us the Details
Benenoch is a veteran offensive lineman who just turned 28 on August 2. After entering the league in 2016 as the No. 148 overall pick in the fifth round out of UCLA, he has moved around the NFL quite a bit, signing with eight different teams but appearing in regular-season games on only two of them: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints.
Despite his inability to stick with one team, Benenoch, who is 6-foot-5 and 305 pounds, has a lot of attractive qualities. The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt tweeted on August 8 about Benenoch’s versatility.
“Benenoch has experience at LG, RG and RT, though most of his NFL snaps have come at guard,” Rosenblatt wrote.
Benenoch has been a full-time starter only once in his six-year career, and that was in 2018, when he started in all 16 games for Tampa Bay. Outside of that, he has mainly served as a reserve, camp body, practice squad player and occasional spot starter.
Last year for the Saints, he was on the field for 49 snaps, committing one penalty and allowing one quarterback sack, according to Pro Football Focus, which graded him at 57.3.
Besides playing for the Bucs and Saints, Benenoch has been signed and released by New England Patriots (two stints), Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills.
Benenoch’s contract will likely be for the veteran minimum of just over $1 million, and his signing does not rule out the Jets in Duane Brown sweepstakes. Brown, 36, the top remaining free agent offensive lineman, started all 17 games for the Seattle Seahawks last season and was selected to his seventh Pro Bowl.
Gang Green hosted him on a multi-day visit over the weekend, according to multiple reports, and appears interested in signing him. The urgency for a potential deal has only grown since the likely season-ending injury to Mekhi Becton and a low ankle sprain for Conor McDermott.
Important Key Details
The green and white are making sure they turn over every rock in a desperate search for more offensive line depth.
The other player they worked out is Chris Glaser, an undrafted free agent out of Virginia. He got a rookie minicamp invite with the Kansas City Chiefs and impressed them enough to earn a contract to join the 90-man roster heading into training camp.
The Jets had their own success story in the UDFA department with wide receiver Calvin Jackson Jr., who earned a contract and is still on the team.
Unfortunately, Glaser lost the numbers game in Kansas City when star offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. reported to camp, making Glaser expendable. The talented rookie has experience at both guard spots registering over 42 starts in his college career.
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Jets Sign Experienced Rival OL Amid Injury Issues