The Jets have placed offensive lineman Ben Ijalana on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, according to a team announcement. To take his place on the roster, the Jets signed center Gino Gradkowski. 
Ijalana appeared in eleven games in 2017 but only played 56 offensive snaps after losing out on a starting job to Brandon Shell. However, in the previous season, he started 13 games and played 83% percent of the team’s snaps.
The injury is a tough blow, particularly when considering that left tackle Kelvin Beachum is out indefinitely with a foot injury. If Beachum misses games, the Jets will have to draw from a group of uninspiring tackles, including Brent Qvale and Antonio Garcia.
Gradkowski did not play in 2017, but he has 54 games of NFL experience under his belt with 20 starts. The bulk of his first-string experience came in 2013 when he started every game for the Ravens.
Perhaps starting McCown would be safer with a subpar OL?
Safer for Darnold and Bridgewater, yes. McCown is about as mobile as a totem pole so the chances of him making through an entire season behind the Jets’ offensive line aren’t very good. And speaking of not very good, Gino Gradkowski isn’t very good: bigger nose tackles eat him for lunch.