New York Jets fans have been waiting with bated breath hoping and praying for the return of their franchise left tackle Mekhi Becton.
He originally dislocated his kneecap and suffered an MCL sprain back in Week 1 versus the Carolina Panthers. When he was being carted off the field, most of us assumed that would be the end of his season, but the Jets received good news after further testing.
From NFL Now: #Jets LT Mekhi Becton will have knee surgery and miss 4-5 weeks, but it could have been much, much worse.
Yet despite that hope, Becton hasn’t made his way back to practice let alone a game as we head into a Week 15 matchup versus the Miami Dolphins with only four games remaining in 2021.
So when, if at all, will he return this season? We finally received some news on that from a well-regarded insider.
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Some Positive News to Consider
Saleh has been ominous all year when talking about Becton’s potential return using the term hope and hopeful that he will be back at some point, but he provided a dose of reality this week saying “I’m still hopeful but we’re getting down to crunch time”:
Robert Saleh remains hopeful that Mekhi Becton will play again this season:
“If he makes it, awesome. If not, it goes back to George [Fant] and Morgan [Moses] – we haven’t skipped a beat.”
That crunch time that he speaks of is the inevitable end of the 2021 season which is rapidly approaching. Obviously, Becton won’t play this week which means at a maximum he has three games left if he returns next week.
Speaking of that very topic, ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler was willing to put a date on the table saying Becton “has been eyeing a Chrismas time return, possibly Week 16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.”
That is super encouraging news because we haven’t heard any concrete dates or information in months.
Perhaps a More Prudent Option
While it would be great to see Becton back on the field and show everyone that the arrow is pointing in the right direction heading into the offseason, that plan comes with a level of risk.
What if Becton gets reinjured? Then his offseason and the start of the 2022 season is suddenly influx for what a handful of games in what is a lost season at 3-10?
Fowler added that the Jets “could choose to rest him for the year” instead with Becton coming off of knee surgery. Although that decision hasn’t been made yet.
Gang Green would have the luxury of that option because George Fant and Morgan Moses have held up relatively well in Becton’s absence.
The other side of the coin is the Jets are going to miss the playoffs for an 11th consecutive year. There is a strong argument to just hit the reset button and head into 2022 as healthy as possible.
Regardless of whether it is this year or next year, one thing is certain, Becton is one of the most important pieces to the Jets’ future. The 2020 draft class is looking super questionable:
The New York Jets’ 2020 NFL draft class (barring a late trade). #Jets
Outside of Bryce Hall being a late gem, the rest of this class has been non-impactful and non-existent. The Jets need Becton to be a home run or this could prove to be one of the worst draft classes in recent memory and that is saying something.
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Mekhi Becton’s Potential Jets Return Date Revealed: Report