BECTON OUT AT LEAST 4-6 WEEKS
Mekhi Becton will once again miss time with an injury, but the Jets’ left tackle could still make a return to the field this season. Coach Robert Saleh said on Monday he expects Becton to miss at least four to six weeks, but the team is seeking a second opinion on the injury.
Becton was diagnosed with a kneecap dislocation and an MCL sprain and will need arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage, according to a report by NFL Network.
What the second doctor finds, however, could ultimately determine whether Becton will need surgery or even more time off the field in rehab, per Saleh.
“Like I said, minimum four to six, after that, that’s more a question for the docs,” Saleh said.
That means the Jets will be without their main blindside tackle for Sunday’s meeting with the Patriots, a team Gang Green has not beaten since Dec. 27, 2015 — when Todd Bowles was still the head coach.
The Patriots also started the season 0-1 after losing to the Dolphins, 17-16, rolling out their rookie QB Mac Jones for his first regular-season action.
For now, George Fant — who’s had reps on the left most recently on Sunday as Becton’s replacement — will move over to left tackle and Morgan Moses will take over primary duties at right tackle.
“There’s a shuffling that has to happen, but you know, with respect to Mekhi, he did only practice twice leading up to the game in the last two or three weeks,” Saleh said.
Becton was injured late in the third quarter of Gang Green’s 19-14 loss to the Panthers when defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon collided with the back of his legs. Becton went down and needed assistance getting back up and off the field. He was eventually carted off in tears.
This just the latest setback of Becton’s injury-littered year. He missed OTAs with plantar fasciitis and then was in the concussion protocol after a preseason game against the Packers.
IT’S NOT JUST THE LINE
The Panthers roughed up Zach Wilson, sacking him six times Sunday.
The offensive line has shouldered the majority of the blame, but Jets coach Robert Saleh aggressively denounced that notion.
“I’ll flat out say it, I’m standing by it, especially after watching the tape and I get grades get floated around and all that from people who aren’t in this scheme, gameplanning sessions, but protecting the quarterback is a collective thing,” Saleh said.
Whatever the “collective thing” is, it needs to be fixed because if what happened on Sunday continues, Wilson won’t be healthy after a while.
Pass protection was an issue during training camp, but once preseason rolled around, the offensive line looked better and the narrative lessened.
But it was fools’ gold. The offensive line’s performance Sunday was closer to the training camp woes from the joint practices against the Packers and Eagles, when the unit was whooped up on a few occasions.
“It is not one position group’s job to protect the quarterback,” Saleh added. “The coordinator has got to protect the quarterback, the O-line got to protect the quarterback, the receivers got to protect the quarterback and the quarterback needs to protect the quarterback ... So, we’ve got to do a better job with the way we want to plan; two, communicate; three, execute our technique; but four, trust.”
While Saleh believes it’s a shared effort, guard Greg Van Roten admitted the offensive line had to be better.
“We did not play well upfront yesterday, and I think everybody’s pretty frustrated, just based on how we felt we should have performed based on our training camp and preseason,” Van Roten said.
INJURY REPORT
Safety Lamarcus Joyner has a torn triceps and is out for the season. Linebacker Jamien Sherwood suffered a sprained ankle and is out a few weeks. Linebacker Blake Cashman strained his hamstring and is also out a few weeks. Punter Braden Mann sprained his knee and is out four to six weeks.