The New York Jets placed starting left tackle Duane Brown on injured reserve on Saturday, keeping him out of the team's first four games of the season at the very least. 

Brown, 37, suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Monday and was held out of team activities for the rest of the week. 

The 15th-year veteran was ruled out for Sunday's season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Friday, but his injured reserve status opens a roster spot for the Jets. 

Brown's is just the latest injury for a New York team trying to escape the AFC East cellar. 

Brown was signed to a two-year, $22million contract last month after tackle Mekhi Becton was shut down for the season with a fractured right kneecap. 

Jets starting quarterback Zach Wilson will miss at least three games as he recovers from surgery to repair a non-contact knee injury suffered in a preseason game. Joe Flacco will start under center in the meantime. 

Brown was a First-Team All-Pro choice in 2012 and has been selected to five Pro Bowls while playing for the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. 

In need of help on an offensive line that recently lost one projected starter due to injury, the New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with veteran tackle Duane Brown.

Brown, who earned a fifth career Pro Bowl nod last season with the Seattle Seahawks, can earn up to $22million over the duration of the deal, according to ESPN.

The Jets’ interest in the 14-year veteran increased after expected starting right tackle Mekhi Becton sustained a season-ending knee injury during Monday’s training camp practice. The 2020 first-round pick missed all but one game last season after dislocating his right kneecap in the team’s opener.

Brown, who turns 37 later this month, has been a more durable player over the course of his lengthy career, having played in every game in three of the past four seasons and missing just four over that span. His 203 career starts are the most of any active offensive lineman.

All of those starts have come at left tackle, where Brown could remain if the Jets opt to move starter George Fant back to the right side.

Fant, a team-mate of Brown with the Seahawks in 2018, began last season as the Jets’ right tackle before switching positions following Becton’s injury. The Jets decided to keep the six-year veteran at left tackle this offseason while moving Becton to the right side.

Brown broke into the NFL as a first-round pick of Houston in 2008 and earned first team All-Pro honours with the Texans in 2012. He spent nine-plus seasons in Houston before being traded to Seattle during the 2017 campaign following a contract dispute.

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