Duane Brown, Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh likely all slept better Thursday night than they previously had.
Brown, the Jets’ starting left tackle, listed “not sleeping great” as one of the effects of his offseason surgery to repair the torn left rotator cuff that he played through last season.
But he gained peace of mind Thursday by testing his shoulder in drills during his second practice since gaining medical clearance.
“It was the first time I got to strike somebody who weighed 300 pounds and see what it felt like,” Brown said, “and I was encouraged.”
Brown’s extensive absence from training camp surely created some restless moments for Rodgers and Saleh thinking about the quarterback facing pass rushers Von Miller, Micah Parsons and Matthew Judon in the first three weeks of the season without their five-time Pro Bowler and career 215-game starter to add protection.
But Brown said he is returning ahead of schedule.
“Honestly, it should’ve been longer based off of when I got [surgery] and everything they had to do,” said Brown, who won’t play Saturday in the preseason finale against the Giants. “I’m kind of beating the odds.”
Why the hurry? Because Brown senses something special brewing.
“I’ve accomplished everything I can in this league as an individual, but I want to win,” he said. “We have an amazing chance of that. I’m just trying to do my part.”
The acquisition of Rodgers, 39, also saves Brown, 37, from being the butt of some old-man jokes by teammates.
Brown briefly trained alongside Rodgers in Los Angeles, but wasn’t sure if the same light-heartedness that he saw then would carry over to training camp.
It has.
“He has fun with it,” Brown said. “Seeing somebody older than me that’s won and done everything — he’s one of the best of all time — enjoy it so much day in and day out has made me feel a little more youthful.”
Aside from Rodgers, Brown might be the most important Jet, considering that offensive tackles Billy Turner and Max Mitchell struggled while rotating on both edges during camp, and right tackle Mekhi Becton’s durability is a concern.
Brown started 12 games last season, but never looked right as he gutted out the injury.
“It was tough,” Brown said. “The main thing is I have a certain level I’m accustomed to playing at, and being out there basically with one hand it’s kind of hard to get that accomplished like you want. Being that we had a lot of promise and a lot of steam, it kind of stalled.”
Brown laughed off the idea that he might ever feel 100 percent again late in his career, but said he “knew he was coming back” when asked about considering retirement.
“We have a tough schedule this year, some guys that are really dominant on the edge,” Brown said. “To give myself a chance to be great, to give us a chance to win like we want to, I need that best version of myself. I feel a lot better than I did going into last year.”
