Breaking: Jets’ Offseason Mistake Becomes Clear as Free Agent Signing Faces Season-Ending Injury
Another future Hall of Famer the Jets were planning to rely on in their offense failed to live up to the hype and now will likely be shut down for the rest of the year.
Tyron Smith, who the Jets signed this offseason to fill the void left by the always injured Mekhi Becton and the equally always injured Duane Brown, has landed on the IR with a neck injury that forced him to miss the last two games. Olu Fashanu, the Jets first-round draft pick in 2024, and who they hope is the future at left tackle, will man the quarterback’s blind side for the rest of the season.
Smith had not been having a good season, giving up more sacks in nine games than he had all of last year. The move to the IR will likely signal the end of Smith’s 2024 season, his tenure as a New York Jet, and possibly his career as the 33-year-old might opt to hang up his giant knee brace that he wears as an elbow brace.
Smith was supposed to be the anchor on this offensive line for this season, and while I have long maintained that the Jets have one of the worst offensive line coaches in the NFL, I believed that Smith was too much of a veteran presence to be affected by it. It appears that age and Keith Carter being terrible at his job are more powerful forces than Smith’s talent.
With Smith struggling and the Jets playoff chances all but gone, it only makes sense to get the rookie some real game experience at the position the Jets hope to see him occupy for the next decade plus.
In a subsequent move, the Jets also activated offensive lineman Xavier Newman. Newman will provide some depth along the offensive line, especially in the interior where the Jets have been thin.
Newman was hurt in the third quarter of the Jets primetime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers when Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was intercepted by Pittsburgh’s Beanie Bishop Jr. It was a scary injury as Newman needed to be immobilized, so it is good to see him be able to bounce back and suit up again this season.
As for Smith, it’s another chapter in a long story of Jets trying to get one more year out of a proven veteran, only to have it end in heart break.
