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Everyone has been patiently awaiting the return of New York Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton.
He hasn’t participated in the nine-week voluntary portion of the offseason as he recovers from surgery and to witness the birth of his child. Although that is all set to change this week.
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Good News and Bad News
This is one of those moments where you walk into the doctor’s office and he says I have good news and bad news.
We’ll start off with the positive, Becton will be attending mandatory minicamp on June 14 according to DJ Bien-Aime of the New York Daily News.
The former Louisville standout has been working out on his own with Duke Manyweather, a widely respected offensive line guru, but it’ll be great to see Becton back at the team facilities.
However now we get to the bad news of the program, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN, Becton isn’t expected to practice at mandatory minicamp.
The reason for his absence from team activities wasn’t mentioned.
It could be because he is still recovering from last year’s surgery or the Jets could simply be playing it safe here. None of the trench players on either side of the ball have gotten much work in this offseason outside of individual drills.
Head coach Robert Saleh has been transparent from the outset that there have been too many injuries and they’re trying to do everything in their power to prevent more.
By only doing light work until they get to training camp, the organization believes this will curtail some of these unnecessary issues.
On Monday Becton will participate in the pre-camp physical and that will be the Jets’ first opportunity to see him in person since the end of the 2021 season.
The Real Truth of the Matter
While it is certainly disappointing that Becton won’t be practicing, it isn’t the end of the world.
After the last two days of practice at minicamp (the scheduled third day they’re getting off), the players will enjoy a six-week hiatus before they reconvene for training camp.
What happens then and during the regular season is what really matters, not the stuff in June. Right now these practices are simply walkthroughs and window dressing.
Becton needs to be healthy and in the right frame of mind because things are about to pick up.
Not only is the former No. 11 overall pick returning to the football field in July, but he’ll be fighting for his starting gig.
Saleh mentioned back at the Senior Bowl that George Fant, who filled in for Becton last season, has earned the right to compete for the role as blindside protector.
In other words, we’re going to have a good ole fashioned training camp battle to decide who will start where. Right now it appears the winner of this fight will be the starting left tackle and the loser will get the consolation prize of starting on the right side.
However, that dynamic could change if the Jets add a proven veteran swing tackle to the room. Last week they hosted former first-round pick, Riley Reiff, on a free-agent visit.
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