Upheaval on Jets' offensive line for Week 1 as Duane Brown misses second practice
Jets offensive tackle Duane Brown speaks to reporters at the team's training facility in Florham Park, N.J., on Aug. 16. Credit: AP/Dennis Waszak Jr.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – The Jets’ offensive line probably won’t be at full strength for Sunday’s opener and could be facing more upheaval.
Starting left tackle Duane Brown did not practice for the second straight day. He’s being evaluated for a shoulder injury, Robert Saleh said.
It’s unclear when the 37-year-old Brown sustained the injury, but this is troubling news for a group that already has gone through plenty of changes and hasn’t played together much.
The Jets signed Brown on Aug. 15 to replace right tackle Mekhi Becton, who underwent season-ending knee surgery. Brown’s arrival led to George Fant being moved from left tackle to right tackle.
Now, there’s a good chance Fant will move back to left tackle against the Ravens and for the foreseeable future with rookie Max Mitchell a candidate to start at right tackle. But Fant isn’t entirely healthy.
Fant, who declined to speak to the media Thursday, has been dealing with his own knee issue and was limited in practice the past two days.
It’s no secret that Fant wants to play left tackle. He played the position well last year after the Jets lost Becton to a knee injury in Week 1. Brown is more experienced and has made five Pro Bowls at left tackle, so Fant got bounced back to the right side.
The line has experienced a lot of movement overall and not a lot of time to mesh. The Jets also signed left guard Laken Tomlinson in free agency, which led to Alijah Vera-Tucker moving over to right guard.
The projected Week 1 starting line of Brown, Tomlinson, center Connor McGovern, Vera-Tucker and Fant only played a handful of practices together and just 21 preseason snaps. Now that’s on hold.
Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur - speaking before Saleh notified the media about Brown just as practice was beginning - said he wasn’t concerned about the continuity of the line, but it wasn’t an ideal situation.
“You want them to be playing from the first snap of OTAs and training camp,” LaFleur said. “That’s not the cards we were dealt. The cool part about this offensive line is they’ve played a lot of football games on Sundays.”
It doesn’t look like they’ll be playing together this Sunday at the least.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
