Re-adding seasoned center Connor McGovern to their practice squad on Wednesday, the NY Jets added significant depth to their offensive line. This occurs just a few days after backup interior lineman Wes Schweitzer’s hand injury forced him to the injured list.
Over the previous four seasons, McGovern has started 55 games for the Jets. He was the starting center going into 2023 when a horrific knee injury cut short his season.
With Schweitzer out for the time being, McGovern provides the Jets with some much-needed inside depth now that he is healed. The seven-year veteran will likely begin the season on the practice squad, but there’s a decent chance he’ll eventually be called up to the active roster.
At this point, McGovern is a capable backup center who can also play guard. The 53-man roster features just two backup interior linemen: Xavier Newman and Jake Hanson.
Additional NY Jets news: Bryce Huff finds it difficult to make an impression on the Eagles
The person he was brought in to help replace, Haason Reddick, is still having trouble adjusting to life on his new team as the Jets continue to deal with his problems. The Eagles’ career of Bryce Huff got off to a rough start.
The former undrafted free agent played the fourth-most snaps out of all Eagles edge rushers while failing to register a single pressure in the team’s Week 1 victory over the Packers in Brazil. Nor do his coaches appear to be very fond of him.
Since Huff’s arrival in Philadelphia, the defensive coordinator for the Eagles has been particularly critical of him. On Wednesday, the coordinator told reporters that Huff must “separate himself from the other edge rushers” in order to get more playing time.
Now, Huff’s disappointing performance in Week 1 can be attributed to the unfavorable field circumstances in Brazil, where no edge rusher was consistently exerting pressure. Fangio is obviously hesitant to play Huff, though.
Michael Clemons is praised by Robert Saleh
With one of his underperforming players, Jets head coach Robert Saleh has adopted a different strategy than Fangio, who is still publicly criticizing Huff. Michael Clemons, a defensive lineman, has been performing poorly, but Saleh still thinks highly of him.
Speaking to reporters about Clemons’ problems on Wednesday, Saleh stated that the squad as a whole needs to improve in Week 2, but he later insisted that Clemons “was one of the better ones” on Monday night.
After the game, the former Texas A&M star had a 56.8 Pro Football Focus rating, which included a lackluster 51.1 run-defense rating. Though not the only problem with the defensive line, Clemons contributed to it.
With John Franklin-Myers gone from the team, the Jets are looking on Clemons to play a bigger part this year. If he is to keep starting, they will require more from him.
