New York Jets have their eyes on a new center
The New York Jets‘ starting center position remains vacant. Previous starter Connor McGovern is a free agent and the team has not signed a viable replacement yet. New York did sign former Ravens center Trystan Colon, although Colon only has four career starts.
It seems Joe Douglas has his eyes on a replacement for McGovern. Brian Costello of the New York Post reports he is hearing “there is possible interest in a reunion” between free agent center Ben Jones and Jets offensive line coach Keith Carter, who coached Jones with the Titans over the past five seasons.
One name to watch with Jets in free agency is center Ben Jones. The former Titan was with new Jets OL coach Keith Carter over last 5 years in Tennessee. Hearing there is interest in a possible reunion.
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) March 19, 2023
Jones, who turns 34 in July, is coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance. However, despite the lack of Pro Bowl recognition prior to 2022, Jones has actually been one of the most productive centers in the NFL for a long time. He consistently ranks as one of the most efficient pass-blocking centers in the league.
The 2022 season was Jones’ 11th in the NFL, but he still performed at a solid level in pass protection, ranking 14th-best out of 34 qualified centers with an allowed pressure rate of 2.7%. Jones allowed only one sack, giving him a grand total of two sacks allowed over the past three seasons.
Ben Jones would be a great piece in front of Rodgers pic.twitter.com/ASEjkEAPWM
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) March 19, 2023
Health is a concern for Jones as he just missed a career-high total of five games in 2022. All five of those missed games were due to concussions, coming over two separate stints. Jones was then released by Tennessee due to a failed physical.
Prior to 2022, though, Jones only missed one game in his career.
Keith Carter was hired as the Jets’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator after serving as the offensive line coach for Jones and the Titans from 2018 to 2022.
