Getty Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton is helped off the field.
The New York Jets suffered what appears to be a major injury during training camp.
Connor Hughes of SNY shared on Twitter that Mekhi Becton was “limping badly” throughout practice and was taken inside by a trainer:
BREAKING: Mekhi Becton, limping badly throughout practice, is being taken inside with a trainer. He removed his shoulder pads #Jets
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Terrible News
Dennis Waszak Jr described Becton’s injury as an “apparent leg/ankle injury” and it occurred on the second play of team drills.
Mekhi Becton went down with an apparent leg/ankle injury on the second play of team drills.
Was down for a few moments, helped off the field and now walking very gingerly with a noticeable limp back to the locker room. #Jets
Rich Cimini of ESPN shared that Becton suffered the injury to his “surgically repaired right knee” which makes matters even worse.
On the second play of practice, Mekhi Becton suffers apparent injury to surgically repaired right knee and limps off to the locker room. He’s limping badly. #Jets
A fan seemed to capture some video of Becton getting hurt during practice:
A #Jets fan captured some video of OT Mekhi Becton getting injured on the second play of team drills. Just absolutely horrific news & I’ll be praying for the big guy: #TakeFlight #JetsCamp (h/t @jojoliotta)
This would be the second injury in as many days to the offensive line.
During the green and white scrimmage, reserve offensive tackle Conor McDermott went down with what appeared to be a very serious lower leg injury.
Head coach Robert Saleh called it an “ankle” injury and it didn’t look good either. The team said they would know more on Sunday about the severity of the injury.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said Conor McDermott is dealing with an “ankle” and they’ll know more tomorrow.
The veteran offensive tackle was carted off the field during the green-and-white scrimmage. #TakeFlight #JetsCamp
Depth Becomes Necessary
Prior to any of this injury news, the Jets were actively kicking the tires on available offensive tackles in free agency.
They explored Riley Reiff during mandatory minicamp, but he ultimately signed with the Chicago Bears.
Most recently they brought in veteran Duane Brown for a visit over the weekend. He was in attendance when McDermott was hurt during the team’s scrimmage on Saturday.
According to NFL analyst Will Parkinson, the Jets continued that visit into Sunday when they were hoping to strike a deal.
After hosting 5 time Pro Bowl OT Duane Brown yesterday, the Jets continue to host and meet with Brown today as the sides look to agree on a deal. Per source, all signs point to the Jets and Brown agreeing to a deal and giving the Jets much needed depth behind Becton and Fant.
I imagine with all of this injury news that the Jets will now increase the heat on their pursuit to lock Brown in.
Throughout his 14 years in the NFL, he has exclusively played at left tackle. Becton has shifted over to right tackle this offseason and McDermott is a reserve player. However, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN, the Jets’ pitch to Brown was as a backup swing tackle.
If Brown wasn’t interested in that offer, he likely wouldn’t have shown up to the Jets for the visit. So if he is open to that it would be quite a coup for the Jets to lock in a proven player of that caliber at a key position of need.
It would provide great insurance at offensive tackle, regardless of the status of their starting lineup. Although it is even more important obviously with the recent rash of injury news.
However, that offer from the Jets may get a lot more tantalizing with this Becton and McDermott injury news. That could feature a clear path to playing time which is something that would entice Brown.
Throughout his entire career, he has been a starter. Brown has 203 games to his name and has never served in a backup role.
These recent injuries just underscores the importance of trench play. Both Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas have said repeatedly this offseason that you can never have enough good offensive linemen.
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