Done Deal: Robert Saleh praises Micheal Clemons and re-sign Connor McGovern
Connor McGovern re-signs, Bryce Huff suffers, and Michael Clemons is praised Robert Saleh acknowledges Bryce Huff’s troubles
Re-signing veteran center Connor McGovern to the practice squad on Wednesday, the NY Jets added significant depth to their offensive line, just days after placing backup interior lineman Wes Schweitzer on the injured reserve due to a hand injury. McGovern has started 55 games for the Jets in the last four years, and he was the team’s starting center going into 2023 until a horrific knee injury ended his season early. Now healthy, McGovern provides the Jets with much-needed interior depth with Schweitzer out of the picture for the time being. Although he will begin on the practice squad, there’s a good chance we’ll see the seven-year veteran on the active roster at some point. McGovern is a quality backup center right now.
Bryce Huff’s Eagles career is off to a rocky start. The former undrafted free agent failed to record a single pressure in the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Packers in Brazil and received the fourth-most snaps among Eagles edge rushers. His coaches don’t seem thrilled with him, either. Eagles defensive coordinator has been especially critical of Huff since he arrived in Philadelphia, telling reporters on Wednesday that he needs to “separate himself from the other edge rushers” to earn more playing time. Now, Huff’s new team is having trouble figuring things out.
While Fangio continues to publicly criticize Huff, Jets head coach Robert Saleh has taken a different tack with one of his struggling players, praising defensive lineman Micheal Clemons despite his lackluster performances. On Wednesday, Saleh told reporters that the team needs to improve in Week 2, but on Monday night, he insisted that Clemons “was one of the better ones.” The former Texas A&M standout finished the game with a 56.8 Pro Football Focus grade, which included a disappointing 51.1 run-defense grade. Clemons wasn’t the only defensive line issue, but he was part of it. The Jets are counting on Clemons to play a bigger role.