Mekhi Becton hints that his return is nearing
Always remaining active on social media, 22-year-old left tackle Mekhi Becton never fails to keep New York Jets fans updated on his current state of mind.
On Friday, Becton posted a confident tweet that suggested he is ready to get back onto the field and prove his doubters wrong.
Mfers forgot who i am…say less pic.twitter.com/xipLfPlDCM
— Trending Topic 🤷🏾♂️ (@BigTicket73) December 3, 2021
Further hinting that Becton’s return could be near, teammate John Franklin-Myers responded to Becton’s tweet by saying, “Return of Big Love coming soon!!”
Return of Big Love coming soon‼️ https://t.co/sNzs92LmqD
— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) December 3, 2021
On Nov. 15, head coach Robert Saleh said that Becton was “one to three weeks” away from returning to the practice field.
Becton took a key step forward during the week ahead of the Jets’ Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Although he did not yet return to practice, Becton was out there doing field work, according to Saleh.
New York’s hopeful long-term left tackle injured his knee in the team’s season opener against the Carolina Panthers. The initial prognosis was that Becton would miss four to eight weeks. That eight-week mark already passed four weeks ago. Week 13 will mark Becton’s 12th consecutive week and out of action (11 games).
The Louisville product entered his second season with aspirations of establishing himself as one of the best left tackles in football. He closed his first campaign in the heart of that conversation.
As a 21-year-old rookie, Becton ranked as Pro Football Focus’ ninth-best pass blocker and 10th-best run blocker among qualified left tackles from Weeks 11-17 of the 2020 season. In three of his final four games, Becton allowed one or zero total pressures in pass protection.
Following their Week 13 game against Philadelphia, the Jets still have five games remaining on their schedule, so Becton appears to have a chance to get on the field before the season concludes if he continues progressing.
Going into 2022, it would be a massive boon for the future of the Jets if Becton could show signs of sizable second-year improvement prior to the end of 2021, even if that improvement only comes over a small sample of games.
