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Max Mitchell

Jets Rumors: OL, Rodgers, Hennessy, Brownlee, Duvernay-Tardif

May 7th, 2023 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets landed a gamechanger at quarterback this spring, and now it’s up to them to figure out how to protect him. Head coach Robert Saleh made sure to communicate that the plan is to play the five best linemen, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, clarifying that the center and tackle spots, specifically, will be open for competition.

The guard spots are presumably safe. Despite a down year for Laken Tomlinson, the Jets signed him to a three-year deal last year to start at guard. After an admirable rookie year as a starter, Alijah Vera-Tucker put together a strong start to his sophomore season last year, even being forced into playing tackle due to injuries before a torn triceps injury of his own sidelined him for the rest of the year. Confirming earlier reports, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post recently reported that Vera-Tucker is still on track to return from his injury by training camp.

At tackle, Mekhi Becton is also slated to return in time for training camp after missing all but one game of last season due to an avulsion fracture of his right knee. Duane Brown mostly held down the left tackle position while right tackle was mostly handled by Vera-Tucker, Max Mitchell, and George Fant. Fant departed as a free agent, but the team brought in veteran tackle Billy Turner from Denver who can compete for the position, as well.

At center, Connor McGovern has handled starting duties in New York for the last three years, grading out as a top 10 center in the league in each of the past two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Jets only re-signed McGovern to a one-year contract, though, so it may not be so surprising that his job is open for competition. That point was further dictated by New York drafting one of the top center prospects in the draft, Wisconsin’s Joe Tippmann, in the second round as the first center off the board. Despite McGovern’s recent years of success, Tippmann may represent the future at the position for the Jets.

Here are a few more rumors surrounding Gang Green this offseason:

  • Speaking of the Aaron Rodgers acquisition, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer indicated that Rodgers playing two more years was reportedly a big part of the team’s discussions with him before the trade. That supposed dedication was only reinforced when Rodgers claimed that he would participate in offseason workouts. Many veterans don’t feel the need to attend such workouts, but considering Rodgers is new to the facility, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio’s report that he plans on being present for “more than half” of the remaining offseason workouts is encouraging for Jets fans.
  • New York recently re-signed long snapper Thomas Hennessy to a four-year extension. The new deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, has a value of $5.97MM. The deal has a guaranteed amount of $1.96MM consisting of an $875K signing bonus and Hennessy’s first year base salary of $1.08MM. $670K of his 2024 salary is guaranteed for injury at signing, and the rest of the $1.21MM will become fully guaranteed on the fifth league day of the 2024 season. He’s set for base salaries of $1.26MM in 2025, $1.3MM in 2026, and $1.35MM in 2027, but the contract has a potential out built in after this season that would allow the Jets to cut Hennessy after this year with only $700K of dead cap.
  • The Jets recently included Southern Mississippi wide receiver Jason Brownlee in their group of undrafted free agents. New York was clearly eager to ink Brownlee, giving the rookie a $246K guarantee, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN. That amount is the equivalent of the guarantee given to a low fifth-round pick.
  • With all their offensive line suffering so many injuries last year, the Jets were happy to have the help of veteran Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Now, with his contract expired, Duvernay-Tardif may have set his sights past football. The medical school graduate has been spinning several plates since the season ended, working shifts in the emergency department of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, starting a Masters of Public Health program at Harvard, and promoting a French skin care brand. Still, while Duvernay-Tardif maintains that medicine is still his future, he hasn’t committed to retiring claiming that he’s still in shape “if the phone rings in October.”

Jets Targeting Training Camp For Mekhi Becton Return

April 20th, 2023 at 5:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Continuing to hold out hope for Mekhi Becton to return to action, the Jets are not expected to have the young tackle participating in offseason workouts. After the avulsion fracture Becton suffered during the Jets’ 2022 training camp, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini notes the fourth-year blocker should not be expected to participate in either OTAs or minicamp.

Becton went down during an August 8 practice, but after a second knee surgery since his previous injury — in September 2021 — the Jets are not rushing the former first-round pick back. And the Louisville product is on track to be ready for training camp.

In addition to moving toward a recovery, Cimini adds Becton has lost more than 40 pounds during this rehab effort. Becton’s weight has been a concern since the start of his career. He has been linked to weighing more than 400 pounds at points during his Jets tenure, but Cimini indicates that scrutinized number now sits around 350. The Jets moved Becton to right tackle before that injury, but their tackle situation will probably change early in the draft.

Last season brought an avalanche of Jets tackle injuries. After Becton went down, the player paid handsomely to fill in — Duane Brown — suffered a shoulder injury that required a season-opening IR stay. Brown later underwent surgery but is planning to a play a 16th season. The Jets later lost George Fant for much of the season; Fant remains a free agent. The team lost Max Mitchell to a hereditary blood-clot issue in early December. The 2022 fourth-round pick started five games last year, joining Conor McDermott and Mike Remmers as emergency options. Remmers and McDermott are no longer on the team, but Cimini adds Mitchell has recovered.

Connor McGovern joins Fant in being unsigned. Vera-Tucker will return to guard, after spending time at right tackle due to the team’s injury troubles there, with Laken Tomlinson entrenched at the other guard spot. Due to the questions the Jets face at tackle, ESPN.com’s Todd McShay notes it is “close to a lock” the Jets bolster this position with their No. 13 overall pick. While the Packers are still believed to want a first-rounder from the Jets for Aaron Rodgers, the team’s No. 13 pick this year is not expected to change hands.

As Becton has played one game over the past two seasons, virtually no chance exists the Jets will pick up his fifth-year option. The Jets have a long-term need at left tackle, with Brown set to turn 38 this year, and cannot exactly count on Becton staying healthy. Mel Kiper Jr. sends Georgia tackle Broderick Jones to the Jets at No. 13, a move that would mark the team’s third first-round O-line pick in four Joe Douglas drafts.

Becton showed considerable promise as a rookie, but injury and fitness issues have hounded him since. He represents an interesting wild card for the Jets, who are searching for O-line stability with a Rodgers trade imminent.

Jets T Max Mitchell Out For Season

December 8th, 2022 at 1:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

DECEMBER 8: Mitchell landed on the Jets’ NFI list because of blood clots, according to Connor Hughes of SNY (on Twitter). This is not believed to be a career-threatening matter, but Mitchell is done for this season.

DECEMBER 7: A Jets starter in five games this season, Max Mitchell will miss the rest of this campaign. Robert Saleh said Wednesday (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini, on Twitter) the rookie tackle is going on the team’s reserve/non-football injury list and will be shut down for the season’s remainder.

Chosen in the fourth round, Mitchell became needed due to the Jets’ run of tackle injuries this year. Mekhi Becton, Duane Brown and George Fant‘s health issues moved Mitchell into earlier-than-anticipated playing time, but that run of work will abruptly cease. It is unclear what will cause Mitchell’s shutdown, but the Jets will lose some depth at a fluctuating position.

The Jets used Mitchell as their right tackle starter in their Week 12 loss to the Vikings, but the team benched him for Fant. Taking an extended period to return from an early-season knee injury, Fant is now on track to start opposite Brown. The ex-Seahawks have not started together as Jets, but that will occur in Week 14 against the Bills.

New York began the season without Becton and Brown. Becton suffered an avulsion fracture during training camp and is out for the season, while Brown — added in the wake of the Becton injury — went down just before the year as well. Brown has since returned and has been the Jets’ left tackle starter, but Fant needed more than two months to re-emerge from the knee injury that plagued him early this season. That brought Mitchell into action.

A Louisiana alum, Mitchell started in Weeks 1-4 and returned from his own injury in Week 12. The Jets, who had been starting Cedric Ogbuehi at right tackle, used one of their injury activations on Mitchell last month. Continuing Gang Green’s run of health issues at this position, Ogbuehi missed Week 13. Not long after the Jets allowed the Patriots to sign Conor McDermott off their practice squad, Mitchell will move out of the picture.

The Jets are bumping recently re-signed guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to their active roster, Cimini tweets. The longtime Chiefs starter-turned-Jets trade acquisition is back from his second medical sabbatical; the Canadian doctor/lineman has 64 career starts on his resume. The Jets have been playing without 2021 first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker as well. Vera-Tucker had played both guard and tackle this season, moving to the latter spot due to the injuries the team sustained at that position. Duvernay-Tardif appears likely to provide depth behind starters Laken Tomlinson and Nate Herbig.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/22

November 26th, 2022 at 4:49pm CST by Ely Allen

The league’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations for Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/22

November 14th, 2022 at 8:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Mitchell has been out of the mix for the Jets since suffering a dislocated knee early last month. Although Mitchell was carted off the field because of that injury, he appears on track to come back. The Jets also have George Fant on IR, but he has not yet been designated for return. The Jets have used Duane Brown and journeyman Cedric Ogbuehi at tackle over the past two games. Gang Green has six injury activations remaining.

The Giants four activations left. A 2021 sixth-round pick, Williams ran into a bone-spur issue during training camp. The Giants claimed Layne off waivers from the Steelers after cutdown day. The former third-round pick has worked on special teams throughout the season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/22

October 8th, 2022 at 5:42pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the roster moves for today, leading into gameday tomorrow. Reminder that gameday elevations will revert to the practice squad after this weekend’s games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Jets OL Duane Brown, DE Vinny Curry Return To Practice

October 7th, 2022 at 4:09pm CST by Ben Levine

OCTOBER 7: Brown looks ready to be the Jets’ first IR activation this season. The 15th-year tackle said he is “good to go” for a Week 5 debut against the Dolphins, via the Associated Press’ Dennis Waszak Jr. (on Twitter). Robert Saleh said Brown would be a game-time decision. The Jets would need to move Brown off IR by Saturday afternoon’s deadline to give them the chance to start or sit the veteran. All signs point to that happening.

OCTOBER 5: The Jets will soon be getting some help on both sides of the ball. The team announced that they’ve designated offensive tackle Duane Brown and defensive end Vinny Curry to return from injured reserve.

Curry signed with the Jets prior to the 2021 season, but he missed his first season in New York after getting diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. He re-upped with the organization this offseason but a hamstring injury delayed his return to the field. During his last two healthy seasons with Philly in 2019 and 2020, he collected eight sacks in 27 games.

Brown landed on injured reserve right before Week 1 after suffering a shoulder injury in practice. The veteran was originally brought in to replace Mekhi Becton, who was previously lost for the season with a knee injury. The team later lost George Fant, whose versatility was key at the start of the season, to a knee injury that will keep him off the field until late November. Once Brown is ready to return to the lineup, he’ll provide some stability to what has been an uncertain offensive line.

The team did get some good news on the injury front regarding Max Mitchell, who was carted off the field during Sunday’s win over the Steelers. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), the rookie lineman avoided a season-ending knee injury. Mitchell suffered a “dislocation,” however, and he’s set to miss a handful of weeks.

Thanks to the rotating chairs on the OL, Mitchell’s injury means guard Alijah Vera-Tucker will likely continue to start at offensive tackle for the time being. Assuming Brown isn’t ready to go this weekend, the team will have to reach further into their bag at OT, with Conor McDermott, Cedric Ogbuehi, and Mike Remmers all options to start (per ESPN’s Rich Cimini on Twitter).

Jets Sign Fourth-Round OL Max Mitchell

July 7th, 2022 at 10:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets moved one step closer to completing the signing of their draft class. The team announced that they’ve signed fourth-round offensive lineman Max Mitchell.

Mitchell was a four-year starter at Louisiana. He showed plenty of versatility during his time in college, playing both tackle positions and left guard. 29 of his 37 starts over the past three years came at right tackle, and his performance at that position earned him All-Sun Belt Conference honors in both 2020 (second team) and 2021 (first team). Thanks to his production, the Jets used the No. 111 pick to select the rookie.

George Fant and Mekhi Becton will be locked in at the two tackle spots, while Laken Tomlinson and Alijah Vera-Tucker are expected to serve as the Jets guards. As a result, Mitchell will likely find himself on the bench during his rookie season, but his versatility means he could himself with a somewhat consistent role as a backup.

“We feel like Max can be a versatile piece on our offensive line,” said general manager Joe Douglas (via Jack Bell of the team’s website). “The guy was at the Senior Bowl. He’s very competitive. He’s been practicing at tackle and guard and snapping the ball at center. We feel like he could be another versatile piece to put on the offensive line.”

With this signing, the Jets have now inked six of their seven rookies to contracts. The only draft pick who remains unsigned is second-round running back Breece Hall.