Jets looking to fix offensive line injury issues

On the day after the Jets season ended, coach Robert Saleh mentioned one thing was “on the forefront of my thoughts.”

That one thing often is the single greatest subject that holds the Jets again in 2024 in the event that they don’t discover a answer.

The Jets went via 13 completely different offensive line combos this season.

They used 14 completely different beginning offensive linemen. They’d a stretch from Week 5 via Week 16 throughout which they used a special beginning offensive line in each recreation.

In addition to shedding Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, the continual shuffling of the offensive line was the largest motive the Jets have been 7-10 in 2023.

“There’s positively a league-wide pandemic almost about offensive line accidents,” Saleh mentioned. “I’ve been engaged on this for over a month and a half by way of simply attempting to attempt to discover the path that we have to go. Proceed to work on it over the subsequent few months, however that’s on the forefront of my thoughts. It’s a forefront of everyone’s thoughts to maintain these guys wholesome. If the O-line’s wholesome, the quarterback will likely be wholesome. If the quarterback’s wholesome, we’ll all be wholesome. It’s positively one thing that we’re finding out and we’ll get all the way down to hopefully get a solution for.”

The Jets have suffered a rash of offensive line accidents beneath basic supervisor Joe Douglas and Saleh. They’d seven completely different offensive line combos in 2021 and 9 in 2022.

Meaning they’ve had 29 completely different combos of their three years collectively. The yr earlier than Saleh received right here, the Jets had eight in Adam Gase’s closing season with the staff.

Saleh and Douglas revamped the Jets’ efficiency employees in 2021, bringing in Brad DeWeese because the director of excessive efficiency and Mike Nicolini as the pinnacle energy and conditioning coach in addition to a number of efficiency coaches. Including all of that sports activities science has helped minimize down on soft-tissue accidents for the Jets however not total accidents.

When Douglas arrived in 2019, he mentioned the Jets would get the offensive line fastened.

He has used two first-round picks, a second-round choose and loads of free-agent cash on the place, however they’ve had a tough time holding gamers on the sphere.

“We’ve invested a variety of sources in that place,” Douglas mentioned. “So, going again, I do know I’ve sat right here and had conversations with you guys previously about how a lot availability is of significance to this group and for the final two years, we’ve been banged up. So, going again and searching on the efficiency and availability of this group, I really feel like I spent a lot time attempting to stop the storm from truly coming relating to accidents.”

Douglas mentioned he regretted not holding a tenth offensive lineman out of coaching camp.

“I feel candidly, one of many issues I may have completed higher with the offensive line is holding an additional offensive lineman,” Douglas mentioned. “Not going into the yr with 9 offensive linemen, however possibly holding an additional physique there. We nonetheless would have had the quick 4 or 5 guys with all of the offensive linemen we performed. Once more, it’s going to be going again to each single decision-making course of and since we have now gotten some selections proper there. I really feel like we do have a couple of cornerstone gamers on that offensive line shifting ahead and constructing round these guys and maintain including to the group.”

Wanting again, the Jets clearly miscalculated by relying on 38-year-old Duane Brown to be their left sort out.

He began the primary two video games of the season after which suffered a core muscle harm that restricted him to identify obligation late within the season.

Alijah Vera-Tucker is their greatest offensive lineman, however he suffered his second straight season-ending harm in October, tearing his Achilles tendon.

On the constructive aspect, Mekhi Becton, who missed a lot of the final two years, solely missed one recreation this season. Left guard Laken Tomlinson is the one Jets lineman to start out each recreation. He didn’t miss a snap.

The best aspect of the road received hit the toughest. The Jets ended up utilizing seven completely different beginning proper guards and 5 proper tackles.

The Jets are finding out groups which have had higher harm luck than them. The Payments began the identical 5 offensive linemen in each recreation this season.

“There’s positively one thing, one thing that we’ve been finding out over the past couple weeks to attempt to get a beat on it and attempt to get a head begin, as a result of knock on wooden, for essentially the most half, the roster’s been wholesome,” Saleh mentioned. “It’s that group for the final two years that’s taken a beating, so there’s positively data on the market that we hope we are able to merge to maintain the roster wholesome, however on the identical time, there’s one thing with the O-line group that’s completely different.”