Duane Brown’s shoulder injury puts him in doubt for Jets’ opener

The Jets’ offensive line is already down one offensive tackle, and now the replacement is dealing with a shoulder ailment.

Duane Brown, the starting left tackle, who was signed after Mekhi Becton was lost for the season due to a fractured right kneecap, hasn’t been at practice the last two days.

Head coach Robert Saleh said he was getting his shoulder evaluated, but didn’t offer any further update. Brown’s status for the season opener Sunday against the Ravens appears in doubt, and the question now is whether it is a long-term injury.

Losing the 37-year-old Brown, a five-time Pro Bowler with a strong reputation for his durability, would be a major blow to the offensive line. George Fant, the starter at left tackle who was moved over to the right side upon the addition of Brown, could move back to his original spot.

The two options to start Sunday against the Ravens would be rookie fourth-round draft pick Max Mitchell and veteran Conor McDermott, who missed most of training camp with an ankle injury and didn’t appear in any preseason games. McDermott is practicing with the team, although he was limited in both workouts this week. So was Fant, who is nursing a knee injury.

“We still gotta do our jobs,” offensive guard Laken Tomlinson said after practice Thursday. “Obviously, the stuff going on with Duane, that’s for Coach Saleh to comment on. But I still have a job to do, so I’m focused on that right now. I’m focused on Baltimore.”

He added: “All of our guys I feel like I can play, everyone from veterans to rookie class. So we’re preparing like we’re trying to play and win a game.”

The Jets’ offensive line didn’t play well in the final preseason game against the Giants, but there was hope there was enough practice time before the regular-season opener for the unit to develop chemistry. But that is no longer possible with Brown’s status in doubt, creating more questions than answers a few days before the first game against the Ravens.

“Work is work, we have to come together and be tighter as a group and come out and grind every day,” Tomlinson said. “At the end of the day, every guy has to do their job no matter who is in the position.”