Aaron Rodgers not too concerned -- yet -- about Jets' offensive line struggles
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws during a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday in Florham Park, N.J. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Aaron Rodgers did a better job of protecting his offensive line than they did of protecting him on Wednesday.
The Jets’ makeshift front five had a rough day in their joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Unofficially, Rodgers was sacked six times and many of his completions were when he got the ball out quickly.
The line has been the Jets’ biggest question mark, and concerns about their ability to keep Rodgers from getting hurt are growing.
Yet Rodgers defended the group that was missing as many as four potential starters and described his concern level as “pretty low.” Rodgers said there could come a time – soon – where he says he wants to work only with the five guys who will be blocking for him in Week 1.
“We got some time,” Rodgers said. “Also, it’s coming up. I don’t get concerned heavily about things I don’t have a huge role in yet. That might change. At some point I might say, ‘Hey, I need the five who are going to be in there to be in there with me for a solid week.’ But I don’t think we’re at that point yet because I don’t think there’s five guys that have earned those spots.”
The Jets were without guards Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) and Laken Tomlinson (leg). Tackle Duane Brown (shoulder surgery) isn’t practicing yet. Perhaps the Jets’ best tackle, Mekhi Becton, remains with the second team.
Robert Saleh said Becton needs to show his surgically repaired right knee can handle playing the equivalent of a full game before he gets first-team reps.
That left center Connor McGovern as the only projected starter protecting Rodgers on Wednesday. Rookie center Joe Tippmann played left guard. Max Mitchell and Billy Turner were the tackles, with Wes Schweitzer at the other guard spot. Mitchell and Turner have been switching sides with the first team throughout camp.
“It’s a work in progress,” Rodgers said. “There’s jobs up for grabs. That’s the beauty of camp, but also the struggle.”
The Jets’ offense is littered with playmakers and it can do some special things. But their whole season could be determined by the strength and effectiveness of the offensive line.
“Having Aaron back there, nobody wants to be the reason that boy goes down,” receiver Garrett Wilson said.
The Jets have two preseason games left and three-plus more weeks before they open up Sept. 11 against the Bills on Monday Night Football. Saleh said he wanted to have the offensive line solidified coming into this week. That didn’t happen.
“Individually, we have a lot of faith in the guys that we have,” Saleh said. “It’s just trying to find the right combination. If it takes us up to game day, it takes us to game day.”
Saleh sang a much different tune in Tuesday’s episode of "Hard Knocks." He tore into the offensive line with an expletive-laced speech during a team meeting after it was pushed around in last week’s joint practice with Carolina.
“Offense, it was our first [expletive] opportunity to change the stink that's been in this organization for a very long time on the offensive side of the ball," Saleh said. "You can have a Hall of Fame quarterback, you can have two $10 million-plus receivers, you can have a reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, you can have all kinds of skill in the running back room. None of it [expletive] matters until the big boys up front change who the [expletive] we are.”
If Brown is healthy, he’s expected to start at left tackle. It’s possible either Vera-Tucker or Becton could start at right tackle. If it’s Vera-Tucker, Schweitzer could play right guard.
So much depends on Becton. Saleh said Becton – who initially expressed he didn’t want to play right tackle in order to protect his right knee - has taken right tackle reps during walkthroughs. Saleh also said Becton will start playing some right tackle in team periods on Thursday.
“If part of our best five is him playing right tackle, I think he’s on board,” Saleh said. “It feels like he is.”
Rodgers is on board with the competition and moving players around right now because it’s August and guys need to get healthy. He said he will keep holding whoever’s out there with him accountable and test them with cadence and adjustments to get them as prepared as possible. But the clock is ticking.
“Whoever’s in there, we’ll make it work,” Rodgers said. “But at some point, we’ll have to figure out who those five are and give us at least a week to get used to each other.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
