New York Jets to add Spencer Long to the offensive line

New York Jets find offensive line help, adding Spencer  Long to the mix.

We knew that the New York Jets were going to add to the offensive line. They need help, especially at center after the season that Wesley Johnson had in 2017. According to Rich Cimini, the Jets have found their man:

The first comment is the obvious one. Wesley Johnson had better get his resume freshened up. With this move it’s only a matter of time before Johnson will be given his walking papers. He was a turnstile in 2017. Johnson looked very reminiscent of Vladimir Ducasse. A change had to be made and it looks like Spencer Long is going to be the guy.

Long is young and can play center and guard. Trouble is he has had injury problems, as noted by Rich Cimini. He finished last season on injured reserve thanks to a quad tendon injury that required surgery. As long as he is healthy he is clearly an upgrade to Johnson. Heck, most of us reading this post would be an upgrade to Wesley Johnson. That’s a totally different discussion.

The fact that he is versatile makes Long a very useful cog as well. Coaches love versatility along the offensive line and Spencer Long has experience playing both center and guard. Last season, Long was graded by Pro Football Focus at 56.0 prior to his injury. That ranked him 19th in the league but also blew Johnson and his 31.3 grade away.

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Offensive linemen need power to come from their legs so a quad injury, if it is lingering, could be problematic. As we mentioned earlier, he lost over half of the 2017 season due to a quad injury. If it has completely repaired this is a big upgrade to the offensive line. If it hasn’t, this move won’t amount to very much at all.

The biggest question remains regarding the quarterback position. Who will they draft? Despite Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown they are likely to draft one. No matter what else they do they have to complete the fix of the position. It will be interesting.