Jets Activate Duane Brown From Injured Reserve; What it Means
Veteran offensive tackle Duane Brown will be available to make his Jets debut on Sunday, activated off injured reserve, the team announced on Saturday afternoon.
Brown returned to practice earlier this week. The 37-year-old landed on IR just before the beginning of the regular season, suffering a shoulder injury in practice.
His return comes at a great time. New York is missing Mekhi Becton, George Fant and Max Mitchell, unprecedented adversity to their group of offensive tackles. Mitchell was placed on IR, the corresponding move for Brown's activation.
Earlier in the week, head coach Robert Saleh said Brown will be a game-time decision as he continued to ramp up in practice.
"Everything went good," Saleh told reporters on Friday. "He’s being evaluated today and tomorrow just to see how it works out. Obviously, the load today will be a little bit less than yesterday, but we’ll see how it goes for the next couple of days."
It's safe to assume Brown will slot back in at left tackle, as was the plan when he was signed to replace Becton. That means New York can either slide Alijah Vera-Tucker to right tackle, continuing to move the second-year guard around, or place him back at right guard.
Conor McDermott filled in for Mitchell when the rookie went down with a knee injury on Sunday against the Steelers. Therefore, he's in line to get some playing time and possibly a start as well. Nate Herbig made his Jets debut last week, starting at right guard (after Vera-Tucker swapped to protect Zach Wilson's blind side).
Speaking of Wilson, Brown's return is significant for New York's signal-caller. In theory, it'll give him more time to work in the pocket and find his playmakers against a Dolphins defense that likes to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
MORE:
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- Jets Shouldn't Take Dolphins' Teddy Bridgewater Lightly
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