NY Jets: Mekhi Becton injury not as bad as initially feared

The NY Jets had a major injury scare when promising young left tackle Mekhi Becton went down with a potentially significant knee injury in the third quarter of the team's 19-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Becton had his knee rolled up on the same play that Zach Wilson threw his first career touchdown pass. The immediate fear was that Becton had suffered a potentially major knee injury.

However, initial tests have revealed that Becton only sustained an MCL sprain as opposed to anything more detrimental, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Rapoport did indicate that Becton would still undergo an MRI to confirm the diagnosis, but that the initial tests were encouraging.

An MCL sprain could keep Becton for up to 1-2 months, but given that the alternative was possibly a season-ending injury, that's certainly a promising development.

The NY Jets received good news about Mekhi Becton's injury

Becton is entering his second year in the NFL after an excellent rookie campaign that saw him emerge as one of the best young offensive tackles in the league.

His play last season was so spectacular that, in a survey of over 50 NFL personnel, Becton was ranked as the sixth-best offensive tackle heading into the 2021 season.

That's high praise for a guy who didn't even turn 22-years-old until this past April.

Becton had an up-and-down summer, but was looking forward to taking a huge leap in year two. Unfortunately, he'll likely miss a chunk of the regular season now.

All things considered, however, the injury could have been a lot worse than it turned out to be. The team will await word on the official confirmation, but this has to be considered a positive update.

The Jets will hope to get Mekhi Becton back on the field as soon as possible.