The Jets had one high-profile spectator night for the Green and White Scrimmage at MetLife Stadium.
Free agent tackle Duane Brown, a five-time Pro Bowler, visited the Jets on Saturday and was on the sideline during the team’s scrimmage at the stadium.
“Anytime you have a chance to have a Pro Bowler like him and add to the depth of our roster, we’re always going to search far and wide,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “There’s interest on both sides, obviously. Joe’s been working on that one for a little bit. We’ll see where everyone’s at in regards to that conversation.”
Brown started every game for the Seahawks in the last two seasons, but he remains a free agent. The Jets are searching for depth at tackle behind George Fant and Mekhi Becton.
Brown, who will turn 37 on Aug. 30, made the Pro Bowl last year as an injury replacement. He has started every game in the past two years and only missed four games over the past four seasons. Brown was a first-round pick of the Texans in 2008, made four Pro Bowls during his decade in Houston and was first-team All-Pro in 2012. He was second-team All-Pro in 2018 with the Seahawks.
Brown was arrested last month at Los Angeles International Airport for trying to go through security with a gun in his luggage.
The Jets had Reilly Reiff in for a visit in June, but he signed with the Bears. Currently, Chuma Edoga and Conor McDermott are the backup tackles for the Jets. McDermott suffered an ankle injury Saturday night, which led to rookie Max Mitchell getting extended time with the starters. Both Fant and Becton are coming off of knee injuries and were on a snap count Saturday.
“You can never have enough good O-linemen,” Saleh said. “You just can’t, especially with the type of offense we play.”
Zach Wilson went 12-for-19 for 100 yards with a touchdown and an interception during the scrimmage. Wilson led the first-team offense down the field on the first drive of the scrimmage. He went 5-for-5 for 44 yards and ran for 24 yards on the drive. He hit TE Tyler Conklin for a 10-yard touchdown to end the drive.
The second drive by the first team started at the opponent’s 35 and the offense only moved the ball 15 yards and had to settle for a field goal from Eddy Pineiro.
In the “second half” of the scrimmage, the starters had one drive and it was run heavy behind Michael Carter and Breece Hall. Wilson did not have a good series, going 1-for-4 and ending the drive with an interception by LB Del’Shawn Phillips.
The scrimmage ended with a two-minute drill that started at their own 25. They got the ball to the opponents’ 44 before turning the ball over on downs.
“I thought he was really good,” Saleh said of Wilson, who was not made available to the media by the Jets.