Jets' Mekhi Becton Had Trouble Breathing Monday Night Due to Chest Injury
Jets rookie Mekhi Becton exited Monday night's loss in the first quarter, sitting out for the remainder of the game with a chest injury.
One day later, New York's head coach Adam Gase is still searching to diagnose Becton's injury and understand its severity.
"This isn't an easy one for me because I don't always understand everything and when I'm talking with these specific injuries, I'm not a doctor," Gase said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. "Just going off what the trainers and the doctors tell me, I don't know specifically when anything happened, I just know when he went out."
READ: Jets Clinch Worst Start in Franchise History, Collapse in Fourth Quarter Against Patriots
Becton appeared to get hurt on a 15-yard run by Frank Gore toward the end of the first quarter. Moments later, he strolled off the field at MetLife Stadium toward the Jets locker room with a team trainer.
What Gase did know is that Becton is not believed to have sustained any sort of muscle injury nor a lung or heart complication. The head coach said Becton was kept out of the game after being evaluated as a precautionary measure.
"It was a chest injury that caused him to have difficulty breathing," Gase said. "We decided not to put him back in the game just making sure that he was okay. We were concerned that maybe there was something there that we couldn't figure out, we just wanted to make sure our trainers and doctors did everything they could to rule out any issues there."
Chuma Edoga replaced Becton at left tackle, finishing the rest of the game at the position.
Heading into a bye week—and this applies for all of New York's injured players—Becton will have extra time to convey his symptoms to the team's medical staff as all parties involved seek to figure out what exactly is causing this discomfort.
"We'll take this next week to really kind of keep looking at that and hopefully get to a point where he'll be ready to go for the next game," Gase explained.
New York won't play again until Nov. 22 against the Chargers in Los Angeles.
Becton had missed two games earlier in the season with a different injury. When he's been able to play, however, the first-rounder has been just about as impressive as can be dominating on the offensive line.
READ: Rookie Mekhi Becton Has Already Shown Why He's the Future of the New York Jets
Asked Monday night following the debilitating loss to New England if injuries are stunting Becton's development, Gase said it's all about how the 21-year-old responds.
"I feel like when he's able to practice and he's able to play in games, he gets better each time. I think any player when you miss time, it hurts you just in the aspect of experience. Younger players, it's all about wanting to see as many looks as possible. You want to be in there and go through those experiences because that's how you become a great player, but you got to be out there. We'll see the extent of this injury and we'll adjust what we need to adjust."
Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), on Facebook (also @MaxTGoodman) and be sure to bookmark JetsCountry and check back daily for news, analysis and more.
