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The Jets won’t be able to punch their Big Ticket again until the 2022 season.
Jets coach Robert Saleh said “barring a miracle” second-year tackle Mekhi Becton won’t play again this season. Becton, whose nickname is “Big Ticket,” has been out since suffering a knee injury in the season opener against the Panthers. Becton had the knee operated on a week later and the Jets said they expected him back in six to eight weeks. It has been 14 weeks since the operation.
“He is a very big man. Everyone heals a little bit differently,” Saleh said. “I know he had a little bit of a cleanup in there and it didn’t go the way everyone was expecting, but it didn’t mean that there were setbacks or anything. He’s still working, he’s still putting in the effort. We’ll get him back for, if something doesn’t change, obviously where we’re able to get him back for next week, if we work off the assumption where he won’t be back, I know he’ll be back for 2022. He’ll be ready to roll. It’s not that there was a setback, it’s not that anyone has been lazy, it’s none of that, it’s just a matter of everyone’s body heals differently.”
The Jets selected Becton No. 11 overall out of Louisville in 2020. He showed a lot of potential as a rookie but also battled injuries. He missed OTAs this spring due to a foot injury. Becton struggled in training camp when he returned and was criticized by offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
Saleh said it is too soon to say the 6-foot-7, 370-pound Becton can’t stay healthy.
“I’m not going to label him injury-prone, I’m not going to do any of that stuff,” Saleh said. “We had Jimmy Ward in San Francisco who was labeled injury-prone, and he couldn’t stay healthy, but he’s had a string now of a couple of years where he’s been healthy and he’s an All-Pro player. So, I never look at a player from an injury standpoint like, sometimes it’s a string of bad luck.
“For Mekhi, this is going to be a big offseason for him in terms of getting his body right, getting his mind right, getting himself ready to play as quickly as possible so he can have a full set of OTAs, which he’s never had, a full training camp, which he really has never had, and get himself into the season so he can dominate the way we all know he can.”
George Fant has played well in Becton’s absence, which has raised the question of whether Becton should move to right tackle when he does return.
“I’m not going to deal with that one right now,” Saleh said when asked about keeping Fant on the left side.
The Jets placed center Connor McGovern and tight end Trevon Wesco on injured reserve, ending their seasons. Both suffered knee injuries. McGovern’s was an MCL injury, Saleh said.
Saleh said WR Elijah Moore is day-to-day as he recovers both from COVID and a quad injury. … WR Jamison Crowder (calf) is also day-to-day. … Saleh said the Jets are hopeful to get some of the players back from the COVID list this week.
The Jets added three more players to the reserve/COVID-19 list — CB Bryce Hall, TE Tyler Kroft and practice-squad LB LaRoy Reynolds.
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