NY Jets OT Mekhi Becton trade rumors are heating up

NY Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton has shown up to training camp down 50+ pounds and in the best shape of his career. Becton appears motivated to bounce back following a pair of injury-riddled seasons.

Unfortunately, the Jets don't seem as willing to give Becton that opportunity. The former first-round pick has been almost exclusively working with the second-team offense in training camp, even with Duane Brown not practicing.

This has led numerous Jets insiders to predict that Becton could be traded this summer. There's a decent chance that Becton isn't even on the team's Week 1 roster.

ESPN's Rich Cimini predicted that Becton would be a surprise trade candidate on an episode of the Flight Deck podcast last week. SNY's Connor Hughes doubled down on that speculation on Monday, suggesting that the Jets could trade Becton if he doesn't win a starting job.

Antwan Staley of the New York Daily News followed that up by tweeting he "wouldn't be surprised" if the Jets parted ways with Becton this summer. There appears to be a lot of smoke surrounding a possible Becton trade.

Why would the NY Jets go through with a Mekhi Becton trade?

There's no denying the fact that Becton is arguably the most talented offensive tackle on the Jets' roster. Injuries have threatened to derail his career, but it wasn't long ago that Becton was seen as one of the fastest-rising young offensive linemen in the NFL.

That begs the question then, why would the Jets trade him?

Brown is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and was placed on the PUP list to start training camp. Billy Turner is little more than a fringe starting option, and Max Mitchell, while promising, is wholly unproven.

The Jets could certainly use a player of Becton's caliber if he can stay healthy. That's why it's odd the coaching staff continues to run him with the second-team offense behind guys like Turner and Mitchell.

Becton has never seemed to click with the current Jets' coaching staff, and his comments this spring likely didn't help endear him to his coaches. That could motivate the Jets to move Becton before the season starts.

We've already seen the Jets trade two players, Elijah Moore and Denzel Mims, this offseason who had verbal spats with the coaching staff. Could Becton be next? It certainly seems possible.

All Becton can do now is prove that he's healthy and deserving of a starting job. Whether the Jets allow him the opportunity to prove himself at this stage remains unclear.