Antonio Garcia should provide decent depth in 2018

The New York Jets are taking a chance on offensive tackle Antonio Garcia but if he can hit the field and prove his worth, it’s a risk well worth taking since he’s already getting ready to resume football activities.

It’s no secret that the offensive line of the New York Jets has had some issues over the past few years. From injuries to overall inconsistency, the Jets offensive line lacked cohesion and well, good depth behind starters to ensure a good rotation when needed.

This offseason, the Jets added some new faces to their offensive line and even added good depth at the tackle position. When the New England Patriots parted ways with offensive tackle Antonio Garcia, the Jets quickly went in and acquired him to see if he can contribute down the road.

The only knock on Garcia is the fact that he, unfortunately, was placed on the Patriots Reserve/Non-Football injury list all of last year due to a serious injury. Garcia never played at all due to having blood clots in his lungs, as confirmed by ESPN.

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At 6’6 and 302lbs., Garcia, if he can resume football activities, could potentially be a beast of an offensive tackle. He made a name for himself in college at Troy for having a plethora of starts and not allowing a single sack in his final year. Ideally, if he’s able to compete and make a name for himself during training camp this summer, should land a backup role with the Jets.

Since the team will have competition among all positional groups to finalize their depth chart, Garcia has a good shot at sticking around. Of course, all of that remains to be seen but he was part of the Patriots minicamp just a few weeks ago before they released him so that’s a positive sign that he’s at least getting close to competing on a full-time basis.

Overall, this should end up being a good acquisition here by the Jets since, at the very least, he can be decent depth both for this upcoming season and beyond if things work out for both sides. Considering how bad the Jets offensive line has been, pickups like this can only bolster the positional group for better play down the road.