FEBRUARY 29: Following up on his previous report, Pauline names the Titans and Falcons as teams to watch on the Becton front. Tennessee struggled up front last season, and at least one tackle addition will no doubt be a top priority for the team. Atlanta does not have a pressing vacancy along the O-line, but Pauline notes the team’s offensive line coach (Dwayne Ledford) worked with Becton in college. A prove-it deal sending him to either team in free agency could be in the cards as a result.
FEBRUARY 28: A January report indicated Mekhi Becton was likely to sign his second contract elsewhere. It now seems all but certain the former first-round pick will not be back with the Jets.
Buzz circulating around Becton for weeks has pointed to the injury-prone tackle signing a one-year deal with another team, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline notes. The New York Post’s Brian Costello takes it a step further, indicating Becton and Duane Brown will not be back with the Jets. Brown, 38, played out a two-year, $20MM deal in New York but ran into injury trouble in both seasons.
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Becton returned after missing 33 games from 2021-22, beginning the season at right tackle but seeing time on the left side due to other Jets injuries as well. While displaying tremendous confidence in his bounce-back ability last offseason, Becton did not distinguish himself — beyond a slimmed-down physique — in his contract year. Pro Football Focus slotted the 2020 first-rounder 66th among tackles, a downgrade from his last healthy season.
While it seems likely a team will give Becton a second chance — especially on a thin tackle market — the Louisville alum makes sense as a player who will need to prove it on a one-year deal before a big-money contract is considered down the line. Becton is still just 24, though his injury- and weight-related struggles will impact his market.
Elsewhere on Gang Green’s O-line, Costello adds the Jets have not decided on the positions of Alijah Vera-Tucker. The three-year veteran is in line to return as a starter, but Costello offers that the team may not have his position nailed down until after free agency. Drafted to play guard, Vera-Tucker has slid to right tackle in each of the past two seasons due to injuries elsewhere. While the Jets have been intrigued by the prospect of the 2021 first-rounder sticking at RT, Costello adds the team may view the position hopping as part of the reason for his back-to-back season-ending injuries.
With this free agency class far deeper at guard compared to tackle, the Jets targeting an inside starter and keeping Vera-Tucker outside could be the way they go about this. The team had previously viewed Vera-Tucker as a potential Pro Bowl-caliber guard, so it will be interesting to see how it arranges its pieces up front. Clarity from the draft also may be necessary, as the Jets are being linked closely to drafting a tackle in Round 1. By most accounts, they were prepared to do so last year (Broderick Jones) before the Steelers swooped in.
Additional uncertainty may exist regarding Joe Tippmann‘s position, but Costello adds the college center is likely to work in that role despite seeing regular guard duty in 2023. Drafted as the center of the future in last year’s second round, Tippmann deferred to the re-signed Connor McGovern. The latter is due for free agency, clearing a path here.
Rather into former Packers, the Jets will probably consider David Bakhtiari if/once Green Bay releases him. The former All-Pro tackle missed almost all of the 2021 and ’23 seasons due to knee trouble that came out of the New Year’s Eve 2020 ACL tear. A Bakhtiari-Jets partnership — a matter that has been considered since Aaron Rodgers‘ arrival — may only come about, per Costello, if the injury-prone talent accepts he would be in a competition for a job rather than handed the Jets’ LT post.
The 11-year veteran was in place as the Pack’s LT starter for two of Rodgers’ four MVP seasons, picking up five All-Pro honors himself. Though, the 32-year-old blocker’s five knee surgeries over the past three years have changed his career path. Regardless of Bakhtiari’s status, the Jets appear prepared to reshape their O-line in a high-stakes offseason for the franchise.
He lived up to his ‘Big Bust’ T-shirt!
link to nypost.com
Was he more of a bust than the Giants Ereck Flowers? Perhaps we need a poll to settle that question.
Becton has never played a full 16- or 17-game season. Flowers did, plus he was competent after leaving the Giants.
Four years later, I’m still flummoxed that the Jets took Becton over Wirfs. He was right there for the taking.
They both had a good draft rating. There’s an element of chance in these choices. Who gets injured. Who keeps a winning attitude.
Becton did show some danger signals (weight) before the pick. Higher upside I believe (a good bigger man worth more than a good smaller man).
Wirfs was a much, much more polished player and also a physical freak. They took Becton because he was incrementally more freaky as an athlete while less of a football player. It’s like taking Travon Walker over Hutchinson. And Wirfs was the consensus better prospect.
Hindsight is foresight. I prefered Wirfs as well.
Welcome to Dallas. We love the Jets o-line cast offs.
This potential move does seem like it has Dallas written all over it.
So per Costello, Bahktari would have to agree that he wouldn’t be handed the LT job? Is Costello delusional? Has he listened to Bakhtari for five minutes? The dude does not lack self-confidence and he always backs up his words.
The Jets aren’t going to waste a free agent slot on Bakhtiari cos he’d be waived/failed physical given his recent history of bad knees.
Mekhi Becton is a hotwives wet dream