By Glenn Naughton
Another piece of bad news out of Jets land today as the team announced long-time center Nick Mangold, who has been battling an ankle injury since week 7, has been placed on season-ending IR after re-aggravating the injury on Monday night.
We have placed C Nick Mangold on IR. pic.twitter.com/8UQS52dFHu
— New York Jets (@nyjets) December 8, 2016
With just one year left on his current contract at the bloated price tag of $9 million, it would appear Mangold is in line for a pay cut, or a new employer in 2017.
While it’s impossible to know exactly who Jets scouts are eyeing in the college ranks, we have confirmed that the team was credentialed for games involving Baylor, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and LSU, all of whom have centers who are considered to be among each teams top-rated draft-eligible players. Make of that what you will.
In a perfect world, if Gang Green were eyeing a young center, Mangold could be brought back at a lower price to mentor the rookie, but in the cutthroat business of the NFL, a team as cap-stripped as the Jets may just cut bait choose to move on.
