Jets 'Very Confident' in Duane Brown's Replacement Against Ravens

Brown will miss Week 1 and potentially more due to a shoulder injury, forcing rookie Max Mitchell into the starting lineup at offensive tackle.
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Duane Brown is out on Sunday in Week 1 against the Ravens, per Jets head coach Robert Saleh.

Brown, 37, was meant to replace an injured Mekhi Becton on the offensive line, slotting in as New York's left tackle this season. Now, he won't be available in the season opener and might land on injured reserve as well.

"There's a possibility it could be IR but there's a lot of information that's going to come out here in the next 24 hours," Saleh told reporters on Friday morning.

Saleh added that Brown got hurt during practice on Monday. He didn't want to get into the specifics.

With Brown out of the picture, the Jets are moving George Fant back to left tackle—where he played in place of Becton last year—opening up the right tackle spot for rookie Max Mitchell, who will be making his NFL debut. 

It's a tall order for Mitchell, but Saleh made it clear that he's up for the challenge. The head coach believes the young lineman can benefit from this type of introduction to the NFL as well.

"Max is much further along than we thought he’d be at this point," Saleh said. "So we’re very confident that he’ll be able to step in and do his job. We think his acceleration is going to go even faster, because there’s nothing like getting reps in the NFL and getting baptized early in your career. So we have a lot of faith in him. He's a fantastic athlete, he's very smart. He's just got to learn the nuances of the NFL game and the game within a game when it comes to the run game and pass game and all the different things that are asked in a one-on-one battle with a defensive lineman. Really excited about where he's at and really excited about where he's going to go because he's going to be a really good football player."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.