Not long after visiting the team, Duane Brown is indeed joining the Jets. New York is signing the veteran offensive tackle to a two-year deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). He adds that the contract is worth $22M (Twitter link).
Brown, 36, met with the Jets last week, leading to speculation that a contract could be forthcoming. The five-time Pro Bowler was in Seattle since midway through the 2017 season. The Seahawks’ addition of Charles Cross with their first-round pick in this year’s draft left Brown on the open market deep into training camp.
Further reason for the Jets to add the Virginia Tech product came earlier this week when it was learned that Mekhi Becton is dealing with another major knee injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for the entire 2022 campaign. With an opening needing to be filled quickly, Brown became a logical candidate to step into a starter’s role once again.
Given the fact that Becton will be under contract through at least 2023 (or one year beyond that, in the increasingly unlikely event the Jets exercise his fifth-year option), the fact that Brown is receiving a two-year deal is significant. He will, in all likelihood, slide into the left tackle spot which was set to go to George Fant for a second consecutive season. The former Seahawks teammates will form the bookends of New York’s o-line, which also added Laken Tomlinson on a lucrative free agent pact. How much the addition of the latter, and now Brown, affects Fant’s contact status with the Jets will be worth watching throughout the year.
As a Pro Bowl alternate last season, Brown demonstrated that he can still operate at a high level despite his age. The Jets will be counting on him to remain an effective blindside blocker for the immediate future. With Becton’s long-term health even more of a question mark, Brown could prove to be a wise stop-gap investment as the team looks to take a significant step forward on offense this year.
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