NY Jets: Signing Morgan Moses is more important than ever

The NY Jets could secure a significant offensive line upgrade in June with the addition of veteran tackle Morgan Moses. And his potential signing now appears more important than ever.

The Jets are one of a handful of teams interested in the longtime Washington Football Team right tackle who reportedly visited with the team late last month.

Moses is one of the best remaining free agents on the market and would be a valuable asset for most NFL franchises — the Jets, of course, included.

And given the latest injury to left tackle Mekhi Becton, Moses becomes even more valuable for the Jets.

The NY Jets should sign Morgan Moses after Mekhi Becton's injury

A third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Moses took over the full-time starting right tackle job in 2015 and he never looked back.

The Virginia product started 96 consecutive games from 2015 to 2020, never missing a game as a starter, prior to his release this past May.

Moses is coming off one of the best seasons of his career in which he finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 79.9 that ranked him as the 18th best tackle in the NFL.

The Jets could look to sign Moses as an upgrade over George Fant, who was underwhelming in his first season with the organization. The team believes that his athleticism will allow him to perform better in new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur's scheme.

But they're clearly not opposed to an upgrade.

Cutting Fant is an option, seeing as he's due to make $8.5 million in 2021 — a hefty sum for a backup. But seeing as though he's already guaranteed $4.5 million of that figure, there might be a better alternative.

Especially given the lackluster tackle depth the Jets currently have.

If the Jets sign Moses, they could opt to keep Fant as the backup swing tackle — a role that currently belongs to third-year pro Chuma Edoga. They could even attempt to restructure his deal and lower his 2021 cap hit if they wanted to.

The Jets are just one injury at tackle away from starting either Edoga or Conor McDermott on gameday. In fact, that injury has already occurred with standout 2020 rookie Mekhi Becton missing OTAs with a foot injury.

The injury, diagnosed as plantar fasciitis, isn't expected to keep him sidelined for training camp, but that's an ailment that could linger over time.

And Becton is no stranger to injuries as he was beaten and battered in his rookie season, despite only missing a pair of games due to a shoulder injury.

Plantar fasciitis is nothing to scoff at, and the Jets would be best served bringing in some better depth. After all, the last thing they want is Edoga or McDermott protecting Zach Wilson's blind spot.

Signing Moses would not only give the Jets an upgrade at right tackle, but it would provide much better depth behind their starting tackle duo.

The Jets can live with Fant and Moses at tackle if Becton misses time. They certainly could live with Becton and Fant — as they did last year — if Moses were to miss his first game since his rookie season.

But as it stands right now, the Jets can't afford to lose one of their tackles for any significant period of time. Or really, even an insignificant period of time.

Signing Morgan Moses already made sense. Now, it should be a priority for the Jets.