Mekhi Becton is expected to suit up in New York Jets’ season opener after head injury
The New York Jets have endured another joint practice injury to a big star in the trenches, but they appear to have averted disaster this time around.
Per D.J. Bien-Aime of the New York Daily News, Mekhi Becton suffered a head injury during a shared session during a joint session with the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday but is expected to be ready for the regular season opener against Carolina on Sept. 12.
The Jets welcomed the Eagles to North Jersey for joint practices prior to an exhibition showdown on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, WCBS). New York previously lost defensive end Carl Lawson to a ruptured Achillies for the season during practice activities against the Green Bay Packers last week.
As Becton prepares for his second season as the Jets’ leading blindside blocker, his summer has been the subject of scrutiny thanks to some tough performances in practice. However, he has put forth a couple of strong showings in the team’s pair of exhibition contests.
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Some theorized that Becton was struggling in practice because of his daily matchups with Lawson, a pressure artist added on a three-year, $45 million contract that made him their most expensive addition of the offseason.
Becton’s issues in camp were addressed by offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur prior to the Jets’ exhibition showcase in Green Bay last weekend.
“Mekhi’s going through some things right now. He’s not playing at his best and he knows that,” LaFleur said. “But at the same time … Mekhi, he didn’t have a training camp last year. He didn’t have an OTAs last May and June so, he’s still working through some things.
“I got all the confidence in the world in Mekhi because one, I know how talented he is and two, he’s a good dude and he’s going to work through all this stuff. We got a long way to go across that whole front, across this whole offense and myself included. He’ll keep on going … we still have over three and a half weeks until we go out and play Carolina. Every day, there are still slight improvements that he’s making and we’re just trying to take it one day at a time right now.”
LaFleur, however, was confident that Becton would be back to his consistent, dominant self soon enough.
“It’s (about) showing up to work every day as an absolute professional, which he does. Mentality-wise, again, (this is) his first true training camp and against some really elite competition,” he said. “I think it’s only making him better, even if the results aren’t showing, I know he knows how much work he’s getting in with the group that he has to go against every single day.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags