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The New York Jets have experienced some tough injury luck over the last few weeks.
However, it seems like the tides may be turning after a recent viral workout video of an injured player hit social media.
Dan Leberfeld shared a short five-second clip of rookie offensive tackle Max Mitchell going through a workout on a side field in Florham Park this week.
Leberfeld said “he seems to be making really good progress coming back from a dislocated knee cap” that occurred during the Week 4 road trip versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Max Mitchell Could Be Missing Piece for Jets
Mitchell was hurt in that Pittsburgh game and had to be carted off the field. When you see something like that, most people expected the worst and assumed it was a season-ending injury.
However, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport said the Jets received some positive news on that front with Mitchell suffering just a knee “dislocation” that was going to force him to miss several weeks but the Jets did still expect him to return before the end of 2022.
Ultimately the Jets placed him on injured reserve which forced him to miss the next four games at a minimum.
Technically Mitchell was eligible to return off of IR to play in the Week 9 matchup versus the Buffalo Bills. However head coach Robert Saleh said all of the players the Jets currently have on injured reserve wouldn’t return at a minimum until after the bye.
The Jets play the Bills in Week 9, have a bye week, then return to action for the New England Patriots rematch in Week 11.
Based on this video of Mitchell looking pretty loose, Jets fans can start to feel optimistic about a potential return after the bye and thus solving their right tackle issue for the present and possibly the future.
Jets Offensive Line Musical Chairs
It’s funny how things work sometimes.
George Fant and Mekhi Becton were the projected starters at offensive tackle at the start of training camp. However, an injury to Becton and the reactionary signing of Duane Brown forced some musical chairs to be played in the trenches.
Then Brown got hurt before the season opener which then forced a developmental rookie into the starting lineup.
The results were surprisingly good as Mitchell became a steadying presence on the line.
Mitchell is under contract for the next three and a half seasons through 2025. Per Over The Cap, Mitchell is due to make right around $4.3 million during that span.
What was originally thought of as a potential dart throw could transform into a winning lottery ticket. The Jets chose not to extend Fant this offseason and with his troubling injury history that is proving to be a very smart decision.
If Mitchell can be the Jets starting right tackle for the foreseeable future that is one less item on the needs list heading into the offseason.
The Jets are still going to have to try and figure out left tackle with an injured Brown and a youngster in Becton who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. However it feels good that the Jets are finding gems with their mid-round picks for the first time in a long time.
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