Mekhi Becton's knee injury expected to keep him out 4-6 weeks, Jets say

It could have been worse, but it was plenty bad enough.

When Mekhi Becton was carted off the field in Charlotte in tears on Sunday afternoon, Jets fans had reason to fear the team’s young starting offensive left tackle was through for the season.

The incident had the earmarks of that sort of injury, which would have been a crushing blow to the Jets and their offensive line, not to mention the second-year man himself.

But Monday brought news of cautious optimism that Becton could return by midseason.

Coach Robert Saleh said Becton would miss a minimum of four to six weeks after dislocating his right knee cap in the third quarter – on the play on which rookie quarterback Zach Wilson threw his first NFL touchdown pass.

Arthroscopic surgery is possible, but Saleh said that step still is being evaluated, which is why the potential rehab time remains an unknown.

Saleh avoided going into medical detail in a video conference with reporters.

"I don’t want to get into all the terminology; it’s like reading Chinese," he said. "But there was a dislocation of the kneecap. But everything else seems to be intact."

With the 6-7, 363-pound Becton sidelined, Saleh does have two veteran tackles to turn to in George Fant, who will move from the right side to the left, and Morgan Moses, who will be the right tackle.

Fant, 29, has been in the league since 2016; Moses, 30, has been in the league since 2014.

"I feel very fortunate that we’ve got three legitimate starting tackles," Saleh said.

"Obviously, Mekhi is a heck of a player and a heck of a talent, but to have two veterans who know how to play this game, getting them in there so they can get into a groove is beneficial."

Guard Greg Van Roten said, "Thankfully, we have George and Morgan, who are both very experienced tackles.

"Mekhi’s obviously a one-of-a-kind kind of human being as far as his size and athletic ability. So we’re going to miss him and we want him back as soon as possible. But I think we have the guys in the room to weather the storm while he’s out."

Losing Becton would have been bad enough, but it came after a 19-14 loss to the Panthers in which the Jets struggled to protect Wilson, who frequently found himself either on the run or getting hit.

And next up are Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Saleh gushed at length on Monday about the longtime defensive guru’s ability to attack protection schemes. So that seems like a potentially bad matchup for the Jets.

"There’s a lot of film study, there’s a lot of trust that has to happen, there’s a lot of communication that needs to happen," Saleh said of facing a Belichick defense.

Saleh said grades from outsiders who do not understand protection game plans often misevaluate players or units. He said protecting the quarterback is everyone’s responsibility, including the quarterback himself.

Joyner out for the season

The Becton injury was one of several that Saleh revealed on Monday, most notably safety Lamarcus Joyner being out for the season with a torn triceps muscle.

Saleh said linebackers Jamien Sherwood (ankle) and Blake Cashman (hamstring) would miss a couple of weeks each, and that punter Braden Mann (knee) is out a minimum of four to six weeks.

General manager Joe Douglas and his staff were at work on that.

Said the coach, "There are going to have to be some additions."

By Neil Best

Special to Newsday@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.