The New York Jets lost their Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers 19-14, but more importantly, Gang Green lost starting left tackle Mekhi Becton to a knee injury.
Becton suffered a sprained MCL and will miss four to six weeks while recovering from surgery to remove damaged cartilage.
Becton, towering at 6-foot-7 and weighing in at 365 pounds, was carted off the field after he went down in the third quarter. The Jets and Becton were prepared for the worst, but an MRI revealed that his ACL was intact, though he suffered a partially torn MCL.
“Positive vibes only!” tweeted Becton. “I’ll be good!”
Becton hurt his knee on the same play in which rookie quarterback Zach Wilson threw his first touchdown for the Jets. Wilson scrambled and found Corey Davis in the endzone for a 22-yard score.
Zach Wilson 22-yd TD pass to Corey Davis .. Becton hurt#Jets 6 #Panthers 16 Q3 pic.twitter.com/EU3n0rlKno
— Sports 24/7 (@B_R_R_D) September 12, 2021
Robert Saleh lost his head coaching debut with the Jets, but he doesn’t have to watch the game film to know that the O-line looked awful. The Jets allowed six sacks and Wilson looked like he was running for his life against Carolina’s frontline and constant blitzing.
The Jets invested a high draft pick into Becton, who was selected #11 in the 2020 NFL Draft. Becton, who was a freak of nature in college at Louisville, was tapped by the Jets as the starting left tackle. He was supposed to protect Wilson’s blind side this year, but struggled before he went down with the knee injury.
