Fooch’s update: The Jets announced Mangold has been placed on IR
The New York Jets have moved Bryce Petty into the starting lineup for Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers, and he might be dealing with a new center. Nick Mangold has been dealing with an ankle injury that cost him a month of games, and is apparently still bothering him.
Mangold was a DNP at the team’s Wednesday’s practice, and he will also be a DNP on Thursday. The reason for that designation is because he is traveling to North Carolina to meet with a specialist. Ian Rapoport tweeted the news Thursday morning, and someone offered up a selfie from the airport as proof Mangold was on his way.
@RapSheet I can confirm that he is on the way now #airportselfie pic.twitter.com/oewF3iRLAe
— Tank (@CDotTank) December 8, 2016
One of the 49ers defensive strengths right now would be the interior of the defensive line. The line as a whole has struggled, but DeForest Buckner and Glenn Dorsey have been one positive. And if Mangold is unable to play, maybe that is an area the 49ers can exploit.
I spoke with David Wyatt from Gang Green Nation to get his thoughts on the situation. Here’s what he had to say.
Mangold suffered an injury in the Week 7 game against the Ravens forcing him to miss five weeks (four games as we had our bye in there). Initially it seemed as though he would be back pretty quickly, but he tried to do too much too soon and ended up re-injuring himself during practice. He suited up against the Colts, but unfortunately he re-injured it again and now he's back in a walking boot and the diagnosis doesn't look good. Bowles has stated that they'll have a look at it, and injured reserve may be a very real possibility. With us out of contention, there really is no point in forcing him back.
In his place we'll start Wesley Johnson, a 5th round pick of the Steelers in 2014. He's actually been with us for two years now and he's a player who's gained some valuable experience this year already. To be honest, I haven't seen much of a drop-off from Mangold to Johnson. Mangold is still a good center, but he's nowhere near the player he used to be when he was consistently ranked as one of the best players at his position. There is some chatter that Mangold may be a cap casualty at the end of the year, but his experience alone probably makes him a hard cut when we'll be breaking in a new QB.