Earlier this year, the New York Jets declined the fifth-year option for Mekhi Becton, who was the team’s No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. And this week, Jets head coach Robert Saleh had a pretty clear message to him, indicating that if he’s going to have the role he wants on the team, he’s going to have to earn it.
Saleh told reporters that there would be an open competition at both the right and left tackle positions, presumably prompting a since-deleted tweet from Becton that said “I. AM. A. LEFT. TACKLE!!!”
It seemed like a pretty entitled thing to say, especially when Becton has had a pretty disappointing career thus far. And when asked about that Tweet, Saleh had a clear message to Becton: go earn the job, if you think you deserve it.
“Go earn the left tackle,” Saleh said according to the New York Daily News. “Competition.”
Saleh made it clear that Bector has a chance to “get better” and go out and prove himself this offseason.
“The expectation for him is no different than anybody else,” Saleh said. “It’s redundant, I feel like I say it to you guys all the time, but you wake up and find a way to get better and that’s who you are every single day. That’s the expectation. If it leads to starting, if it leads to a left tackle position, it doesn’t matter. If you go to bed satisfied with the way you approach each day and the way you attack it, odds are, it is going to work out in your favor. If it doesn’t, at least you go to bed knowing you tried your best.”
We’ll certainly have to see if Bector can earn that spot this offseason.
