Signing with the Jets in 2015, James Carpenter started 58 straight games. A shoulder injury caused Carpenter’s streak to stop there last week and will end his season.
The veteran guard will undergo surgery on an injured shoulder, leading to the Jets placing him on IR, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports (on Twitter). Offensive lineman Ben Braden is on the practice field for the Jets, with the New York Post’s Brian Costello tweeting he’s up from the practice squad.
This comes at a bad time for the 29-year-old blocker. He is scheduled to be a free agent in 2019. Carpenter has played through shoulder pain for much of this season but could no longer effectively fight through it, per Mehta.
The Jets moved free agent addition Spencer Long from center to Carpenter’s left guard slot last week, and Mehta notes that arrangement could be how Gang Green proceeds the rest of the way. Jonotthan Harrison started at center in Week 12.
Carpenter’s anchored the Jets’ offensive line following the departures of stalwarts D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. Carpenter reaching free agency would make for an interesting equation come March. Ramon Foster, Andy Levitre, Rodger Saffold and Mike Iupati are all playing on expiring contracts, leading to a unique set of elder-statesmen linemen representing most of the top free agent guards, barring extensions or pre-free agency re-ups.
Anyone who can play 58 consecutive games for the Jets deserves some kind of award. It would be nice to see Carpenter make a full recovery. Given how desperate some teams are along the offensive line, I expect he could do alright on the open market.