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Tag: Duane Brown

  • Jets’ Duane Brown to begin practice window off injured reserve: ‘I was a bit ambitious in my recovery time’

    Jets’ Duane Brown to begin practice window off injured reserve: ‘I was a bit ambitious in my recovery time’

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    The Jets‘ offensive line has been like a game of musical chairs in the past two seasons. Gang Green hopes that their line will soon be stabilized with the news of a key veteran’s possible return.

    On Wednesday, Robert Saleh announced the Jets would open left tackle Duane Brown’s practice window this week. Brown has been on injured reserve since Sept. 23 with a hip injury, a day before the Jets’ loss to the Patriots.

    When a player’s practice window is opened, the team has 21 days to either activate that player to the 53-man roster or shut them down for the remainder of the season.

    “Just have to see how it feels in practice,” Brown said Wednesday. “Everything I’ve been doing to this point, sprinting, change of direction, stuff like that. Trying to simulate the game action, but I won’t know exactly how it feels until I’m pushing, playing against people who are 300-plus pounds, real pass protection, really putting stress on it.

    “Once I get a couple of days of that, I will have a better idea.”

    Injuries have marred Brown’s tenure with the Jets. The veteran signed a two-year, $22 million contract in August of 2022 after Mekhi Becton’s second knee injury in two seasons. However, Brown was placed on injured reserve before the Jets’ first game of 2022 due to a shoulder injury.

    The 38-year-old eventually returned after missing the first four games of that season, but his shoulder hampered him throughout the entire year. He played in 12 games and allowed one sack after basically playing with one healthy shoulder. But Brown was eventually shut down for the Jets season finale once the team was eliminated the previous week.

    After having offseason shoulder surgery and not practicing during OTAs (organized team activities) last spring, the offensive lineman was eventually cleared to practice late last August.

    Jets coach Robert Saleh said Brown was so eager to return to the field after his shoulder surgery that he felt like the team might have “compromised” some of his rehab in terms of the speed of it.

    “I was a bit ambitious in my recovery time trying to get back,” Brown said. “I don’t think I was as strong as I could have been.

    “The time off, I had a chance to get stronger and get a bit more adjusted than I was before. Coming back and having a few days of practice and going into a game, I don’t think I was quite ready yet.

    “I do feel a lot better now, but I still have to trust the process of getting back into it and see how it feels and go from there.”

    After Brown’s hip injury, the Jets began shuffling their offensive line.

    Becton, who was starting at right tackle, moved into Brown’s left tackle spot. Then Alijah Vera-Tucker, who usually played at right guard, moved to right tackle. Rookie Joe Tippmann was inserted into the starting offensive line at right guard.

    The Jets offensive line has been continued to be crushed by injuries this season. Vera-Tucker tore his Achilles last month and will be out for the season.

    Center Connor McGovern (knee) and right guard Wes Schweitzer (calf) have been placed on injured reserve after last Sunday’s game against the Giants. Tippmann (quadriceps) has also been injured.

    With all the changes on the Jets offensive line, it has been difficult to generate any continuity, which has hindered the offense a bit. Gang Green ranks 29th (273.3 yards per game) and 26th in points per game (18).

    “It’s very frustrating because … everything starts up front,” Saleh said. “You want to get creative and you want to do different things but the protection has to hold up and a lot of times the protection, it comes from continuity and guys just knowing how to play off each other, how to pass off games, how to feel one another in their sets or in the run game, whatever it is.

    “We love the guys we have in our room, we do. It’s just a matter of them just playing together and getting together and playing together and playing next to one another and communicating with one another. If we can just get some continuity going, the group that we have is good enough.”

    Now that Brown appears close to returning, that will give the Jets some options on their offensive line. The Jets could move Becton back to right tackle and can play Billy Turner or Max Mitchell at right guard.

    “Gotta put your work in,” Becton said about the possibility of moving back to right tackle. “The muscle memory of moving back to the other side.

    “I just want to play football, I didn’t play football for two years. So I really don’t give a damn about where I’m at. I just want to play football.”

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    Antwan Staley

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  • Duane Brown says he’s ‘grateful’ to be able to suit up for Week 1 vs. Bills

    Duane Brown says he’s ‘grateful’ to be able to suit up for Week 1 vs. Bills

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    The Jets recently got the foundation of their offensive line back after the veteran of the group began practicing once again.

    Left tackle Duane Brown was activated off the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 24 after he was cleared to practice following offseason shoulder surgery. Ahead of Monday’s night game against the Bills, Brown ramped up his work and conditioning, hoping to be ready to patrol Aaron Rodgers’ blindside.

    Now Brown is all systems go as he will play in his first game since the Jets’ New Year’s Day loss to the Seahawks last season.

    “I feel good, the last few weeks have been great and I got a lot of great work in,” Brown told the Daily News. “Been able to get some good work in against our D-Line.

    “We got so many good players that give me a lot of different looks and made me compete, made me really test myself to battle, to win the reps. They bring me up to speed really quickly.

    “The O-Line has been getting me up to speed with the communication and the calls and the new offense. It’s been going great.”

    Brown has dealt with a ton of adversity since he signed with the Jets last year. Just weeks after he signed with Gang Green, Brown tore his rotator cuff and missed the season’s first four weeks.

    Brown eventually returned, but he played last season basically on one shoulder. He only allowed one sack in 12 games for the Jets. Once the Jets were officially eliminated, Brown sat for the season finale against the Dolphins as he and the team knew he would need offseason shoulder surgery.

    Brown could have opted for rotator cuff surgery then, but that would have prematurely ended his season. Despite being at an age where many would consider retirement coming off a significant injury, Brown, 38, knew he would return for his 17th season even before the Jets traded for Rodgers.

    “Duane has been doing this a long time and he’s fun because he loves football,” Jets offensive line coach Keith Carter said. “He doesn’t do this because he has to, he does this because he loves ball.

    “He brings an energy, he’s been through everything we’ve gone through so far this offseason, whether it is shuffling people around or whatever. He’s been through all of this before. He just brings kind of that maturity and that passion for the game that’s infectious that rubs off on the guys.”

    Brown and the Jets will begin the 2023 season against a Bills team that’s won the AFC East division three years in a row. With the addition of Rodgers, many pundits believe the Jets have a good enough roster to not only win the division for the first time since 2002 but possibly contend for a Super Bowl title.

    Meanwhile, Brown said he isn’t paying attention to the outside chatter and expectations. He is just grateful to be back out there with his teammates as he and his teammates hope to continue to get better every single day.

    “I’m just grateful, man,” Brown said. It’s been a long offseason, it’s been a long process getting the surgery, rehabbing it, the shape that I’ve been able to get in. I didn’t know quite what that was going to look like, didn’t know quite if I would be ready to go Week 1, so I’m just grateful to be out here with my guys. Able to contribute, able to go out and compete. I know the opponent that we got coming here, I gotta bring the best version of myself for us to succeed.”

    FULL PARTICIPANTS

    A day after he missed practice due to an illness, Jets right tackle Mekhi Becton returned to practice Saturday morning. Becton, along with Brown and running back Breece Hall, were all full participants. Brown (shoulder) and Hall (knee) were limited during Thursday’s and Friday’s practice.

    Cornerback Michael Carter II is also listed on the injury report, but he was a full participant as well.

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    Antwan Staley

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  • Jets activate Brown from IR to help lift O-line

    Jets activate Brown from IR to help lift O-line

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    FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown will make his New York Jets debut Sunday after being activated from injured reserve Saturday — a potential boost to their injury-ravaged offensive line.

    Brown, 37, is expected to start against the Miami Dolphins, becoming the third different player in as many weeks to start at left tackle. He returned to practice Wednesday and made it through the week without any setbacks after injuring a shoulder in a practice leading up to the season opener.

    In a corresponding move, the Jets placed right tackle Max Mitchell (knee) on IR, meaning he will be out at least four games. Mitchell, injured last week, already had been ruled out for Sunday. He becomes the fourth offensive tackle to have a stint on IR.

    The Jets haven’t revealed their lineup plan, but Brown’s return means Alijah Vera-Tucker will be on the move again. The regular right guard made an emergency start at left tackle last week, earning praise from teammates and coaches for his versatility and team-first approach. The 2021 first-round pick could make his first career start at right tackle, replacing Mitchell.

    The Jets’ offensive-line plan got blown up in training camp when right tackle Mekhi Becton underwent season-ending knee surgery. That prompted them to sign Brown, who received a two-year, $20 million contract, including a $9 million guarantee. He lasted only seven practices and one preseason game before banging up his shoulder.

    Brown declined to reveal the specific injury, except to say doctors gave him the option of surgery. He decided to play through it, hoping rest and rehab would help. While he recovered, George Fant, who has gone back and forth between both tackle spots, aggravated a surgically repaired knee in Week 3 and landed on IR.

    The rest of the starting line could be left guard Laken Tomlinson, center Connor McGovern and right guard Nate Herbig, a fill-in.

    “This game is everything to me,” Brown said. “I came here with high expectations for myself and what I can contribute to the team. Being sidelined the first four games was tough. The chance to do my thing and get out there with the guys means everything to me.”

    Brown, a first-round pick by the Houston Texans in 2008, has started 203 games for the Texans and Seattle Seahawks. He became a free agent after last season.

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