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A talented member of the New York Jets 2022 rookie class appeared to get hurt during the first padded practice.
Team reporter Ethan Greenberg tweeted out that offensive lineman Max Mitchell limped off of the field:
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Highlighting a Much Bigger Issue
During media availability after practice, head coach Robert Saleh wasn’t asked about Mitchell’s injury status by the beat reporters in attendance.
It also seems like, at this point, Greenberg is the only reporter that noticed the Mitchell injury on social media so we’ll keep you posted with any further updates.
Mitchell is the only offensive lineman that the Jets selected in the 2022 NFL draft. He was the No. 111 overall pick in the fourth round out of Lousiana
The thought behind the selection is Mitchell would essentially redshirt his rookie campaign and hopefully be ready to compete for a starting job in 2023.
Connor Rogers is the lead draft analyst for Bleacher Report and in his film study argued that Mitchell is exclusively a right tackle at the next level.
The Depth Is Looking Rough
Veteran George Fant is at the team facilities but he hasn’t worked himself back in fully into team activities.
In his stead has been a rotation of guys including Conor McDermott.
The 29 year old veteran was forced to start three games last season and it didn’t go well.
It appears things haven’t changed during training camp in that regard either.
Both Connor Hughes and Zack Rosenblatt documented that Carl Lawson went through McDermott like a turnstile getting an immediate sack on Zach Wilson during Monday’s padded practice.
After practice coach Saleh was asked about how he feels about his offensive tackle depth and he defended the group:
“We feel good about the guys we have. We’ve got a good group that is getting valuable reps with Fant not being here which is awesome because that experience is going to help them get even better.”
Despite Saleh’s public backing it sure sounds like the Jets could use a veteran swing tackle. Fortunately timing worked out pretty well on Monday August 1 as the team hosted a “free-agent” OT for a visit.
Damien Woody would be a good fit for this team based on his championship pedigree (two Super Bowls), veteran leadership, and impressive track record.
The only problem is Woody retired from the NFL back in 2011 and is now 44 years old. So sadly this visit he had with the team was exclusively a social call, which he confirmed on Twitter:
It is unclear how serious this Mitchell injury is at this point, but it highlights a much larger issue. Who are you going to call if an injury hits the offensive tackle room?
The Jets better figure out the answer to that question in the next month and change or it could come back to haunt them at some point this season.
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