LAYING IT ON THE LINE
Jets need veteran QB, but they also need to protect him
The new NFL league year will begin less than a month from now on March 15.
The Jets are looking for a veteran quarterback and names such as Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo have been rumored.
“I think generationally there’s what maybe four or five quarterbacks every generation that are really that top-notch player from the (Dan) Marino, Joe Montana, Steve Young to the (Troy) Aikman, Brett Favre group to Peyton Manning, Tom Brady. Now, it seems like we’re in a whole new generation,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said.
“As far as my experience in the league, it’s a team sport and the ultimate team sport, and so quarterback is, I stand by, the most important position in all sports. But ultimately, it’s a team sport and you have to have a great group of people around them to support them.”
That does not mean quarterback is the only significant need for the Jets after they finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year. No matter who will be under center for the Jets in the fall, the offensive line must be rebuilt.
Gang Green has a new offensive line coach in Keith Carter, who was with the Titans for five seasons (2018-22) before he was fired at the conclusion of the regular season. Carter replaces John Benton, who was fired by coach Robert Saleh last month.
Saleh decided to move on from Benton in part because of the way the offensive line played during the final six weeks of the season. The Jets averaged 62.1 yards per game on the ground as the offensive line and the running backs all played a role in the team averaging just 11 points per game during their six-game losing streak.
Carter and Saleh have their work cut out for them this offseason trying to improve an offensive line that was battered and bruised throughout the year. Last season, the Jets saw 11 different offensive linemen start games for them. That doesn’t include former first-round pick Mekhi Becton, who missed the entire season due to a knee injury he suffered during training camp.
The Jets will need at least two new starters on their offensive line — at center and at tackle. Center Connor McGovern and veteran tackle George Fant, who was limited to eight games last season primarily because of a knee injury, will both be free agents.
The future of left tackle Duane Brown is also unknown. After missing the first four games of last season because of a shoulder injury, Brown started 12 games for the Jets.
However, Brown’s shoulder never got better as he played with the injury all season before sitting out the season finale against the Dolphins. The Jets would save $6.3 million by releasing Brown, who will be 38 in August.
One bit of good news for the Jets is they will get Alijah Vera-Tucker back. He was one of their MVPs during the first seven games of the season. Vera-Tucker played right guard, left tackle and right tackle last season before suffering a season-ending torn triceps during a victory over the Broncos in October.
With Vera-Tucker and rookie running back Breece Hall, who rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns in seven games, the Jets had a 5-2 record. Without Vera-Tucker and Hall, who tore his ACL against the Broncos, the Jets were 2-8 the rest of the season.
Tackle Max Mitchell, who missed the final five games because of blood clots in his right calf and lung, is also expected to recover fully. After being selected in the fourth round in the 2022 draft, Mitchell played six games (starting five).
The Jets could use a quality left tackle and the draft is full of them. Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., Georgia’s Broderick Jones and Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski all would be potential franchise tackles for the next decade. In terms of a center replacement for McGovern, Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz has been flying up draft boards and he could be a possibility in Round 2.
What the Jets can’t do is put too much hope in Becton once again. During the locker clean-out day, Becton was slimmer and said all the right things about his return from another knee injury.
Sure, it would be great for the Jets to have depth at tackle, but they cannot depend on Becton to stay healthy. In his three seasons, Becton has played a total of 15 games.
During the 2021 opener, Becton injured his right knee against the Panthers and never played again despite the Jets initially saying he should return four-to-six weeks after surgery. Then, during training camp last summer, Becton injured his right kneecap and he didn’t even take a preseason snap.