Adam Gase insists the Jets didn’t risk further injury to left tackle Mekhi Becton by inserting him four plays into the game after not starting him because of a shoulder issue.
The Jets’ first-round draft pick replaced fill-in starter Chuma Edoga, who also injured his shoulder, 90 seconds into the first quarter, but Becton left the game before halftime because he couldn’t tolerate the pain in his shoulder.
“His injury is really a strength/pain tolerance [thing], it’s not really a structural issue,” Gase said. “When Chuma went down, Mekhi was like, ‘I’m going,’ and went in. He and [offensive line coach] Frank [Pollard] kind of made eye contact there and he was like ‘I’m going.’
“He tried to do as much as he could. I appreciate the fact that he tried to give it a go. But he just couldn’t do much. He had no strength to battle those guys. So then we put [Conor] McDermott in. If [Becton] was in risk of hurting himself further, then he wouldn’t have been able to go in. It was really where was his strength and how long could he last? I felt like he was trying to help the team out.”
Asked why they’d risk reinjuring such an important player if he wasn’t healthy, Gase added: “He’s dressed and he felt like he was good. … That was a decision we made. He got out of the game in the same place he was before the game.”
Tight end Chris Herndon has totaled just 11 receptions for 74 yards with no touchdowns through four games.
“We keep trying to figure out ways to get him going and get him the ball and just see if we can get him in space,” Gase said. “We just haven’t been able to get him rolling quite as well as what I had planned before the season. … Whatever the reason, that hasn’t worked out the way I guess I envisioned it before the season.”
Wide receiver Lawrence Cager (hamstring) probably will miss “a couple of weeks,” Gase said. Right tackle George Fant (thumb) will attempt to play with a cast. Chuma, CB Bless Austin (calf) and LB Jordan Jenkins (calf) are day-to-day.
The Jets claimed former Lions running back Ty Johnson off waivers.
