The day after the Jets' season ended, coach Robert Saleh said one thing was “at the forefront of my mind.”
That something could be the single biggest problem holding the Jets back in 2024 if they can't find a solution.
The Jets went through 13 different offensive line combinations this season.
They started 14 different starting offensive linemen. They used a different starting offensive line in every game from Week 5 through Week 16.
In addition to losing Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, the continued shuffling of the offensive line was the biggest reason the Jets went 7-10 in 2023.
“There's definitely a pandemic going on across the league when it comes to offensive line injuries,” Saleh said. “We've been working on this for over a month and a half to find the direction we want to go in. We'll continue to work on it over the next few months, but it's at the forefront of my mind.” Staying healthy is everyone's top priority. When the O-line is healthy, the quarterback is healthy. When the quarterback is healthy, we're all healthy. . That's definitely something we're researching and hopefully getting answers to.”
The Jets have been plagued by injuries to the offensive line under general manager Joe Douglas and Saleh. There were seven offensive line combinations in 2021 and nine in 2022.
In other words, there were 29 different combinations in the three years of their relationship. The year before Saleh came here, the Jets scored eight points in Adam Gase's last season with the team.
Saleh and Douglas revamped the Jets' performance staff in 2021, adding Brad DeWeese as high performance director and Mike Nicolini as head strength and conditioning coach and several performance coaches. Adding all of the sports science reduced the Jets' soft tissue injuries, but not overall injuries.
When Douglas took over in 2019, the Jets said they would fix their offensive line.
He's spent two first-round picks, a first-round pick and a ton of free agent money at the position, but they've struggled to keep players on the field.
“We have invested a lot of resources into that position,” Douglas said. “So, going back, I know I've sat here in the past and talked to you all about how important availability is to this group, but for the past two years we've been clashing a lot. So when you look back and look at the performance and responsiveness of this group, it feels like we spent an awful lot of time trying to prevent a real storm coming in terms of injuries.”
Douglas said he regrets not keeping the No. 10 offensive lineman out of training camp.
“Honestly, one of the things we could have done better on the offensive line is to add another offensive lineman,” Douglas said. “We're not going into this year with nine offensive linemen, but maybe we'll keep some extra bodies. Every offensive lineman we've played still has four or five backs. Again, it goes back to all the decision-making processes, because we're making some decisions there. We’ve got some guys and it feels like we’re going to move forward and grow around them and continue to add to the group.”
In retrospect, the Jets clearly miscalculated by expecting 38-year-old Duane Brown to play left tackle.
He started the first two games of the season, but then suffered a core muscle injury that limited him to spot appearances in the second half of the season.
Aliyah Berra-Tucker, the team's best offensive lineman, suffered her second consecutive season-ending injury when she tore her Achilles tendon in October.
On the positive side, Mekhi Becton, who has been sidelined for most of the past two years, only missed one game this season. Left guard Laken Tomlinson is the only Jets lineman to start every game. He didn't miss a moment.
The right side of the line was hit the hardest. The Jets ended up using seven different starting right guards and five different right tackles.
The Jets are studying teams that are more injury-prone than themselves. The Bills have started the same five offensive linemen in every game this season.
“There's definitely something there. We've been working over the last few weeks to try to beat it and get a head start because, for the most part, the roster is healthy,” Saleh said. “There's definitely some information out there that wants to be able to merge to keep the roster healthy because that group has taken a hit the last two years, but at the same time, there's something different about the O-line group. be. “
