Mekhi Becton Rips Jets for Handling His Injury: 'Made No Sense to Put Me at RT'

New York Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton believes a position change may have played a role in the knee injury that cost him the 2022 NFL season.

"I got forced to play a position I don't play, and then I was pretty much telling them I wasn't feeling good the whole time throughout camp, and I was told I shouldn't be complaining," he said to Newsday's Bob Glauber. "Go out there and do it. I was limping throughout the whole practice, and I just took a step and my knee buckled and I got hurt again and had to get reconstructive surgery."

Becton also said "it made no sense" to put him at right tackle given the injury.

"I hurt my right knee," he said. "That's going to be the knee that I put the most pressure on [while backpedaling in pass protection]. I explained it [to the coaches], but no one cared."

Becton missed all but one game in 2021 because of a knee injury. Heading into the 2022 campaign, the Jets signaled they were moving him to the right side of the line in favor of George Fant.

Becton fractured his kneecap last August, ending his year before it began.

This isn't the first time the 24-year-old referenced his frustration over playing right tackle. In a since-deleted tweet earlier this month, he wrote, "I. AM. A. LEFT. TACKLE!!!"

Jets head coach Robert Saleh took the comment in stride and said Becton will have the opportunity to earn the starting job.

Becton struck a confident tone in his interview with Glauber about the situation.

"They've been putting me on the depth chart as their third-string tackle because I've got to earn it," he said. "But I know within a week, I'm going to be starting on that left side."

New York declined Becton's fifth-year option, which would've paid him $13.6 million in 2024. It wasn't a surprising move given how little he has played over the past two seasons.

Now that he's due to become a free agent next offseason, the 2020 first-round pick has an obvious incentive to deliver on the field. Independent of his contract, it's clear he has a big chip on shoulder as he looks to prove himself as a starting-caliber left tackle.