Max Mitchell is dealing with blood clots

Dec 9, 2022 - 10:26 AM

Earlier this week Robert Saleh confirmed that rookie 4th-round offensive tackle Max Mitchell would be placed on the non-football injury reserve list and miss the rest of the season. The Jets coach refused to elaborate on the reason and left it at that.

Yesterday we heard that Max was suffering from blood clots in his right calf and lung. Max’s dad clarified the situation yesterday confirming “It should not affect his career long term,” John Mitchell said. “Of course, we’re taking a big, great deep breath with all of this, but his future is promising.”

John also confirmed that Max has a hereditary blood-clotting condition called factor V Leiden. Mitchell is on blood-thinning medication and is expected to make a full recovery. If everything goes well he should be back raring to go for the 2023 NFL season.

Obviously, the first thing we want to do is wish Max all the best and wish for a speedy and full recovery. Mitchell looked to be struggling on Sunday against the Vikings, which really isn’t a surprise considering a blood clot was found in his lungs which is likely to cause loss of breath and chest pain. The Jets removed Max and inserted George Fant at right tackle and that decision looks even more justified with the diagnosis from the doctors.

Max had a decent NFL debut season after being called into action amongst a slew of offensive line injuries. Mitchell allowed 3 sacks and 14 pressures over 232 pass-blocking snaps. The original plan for Max was for him to almost take a redshirt year to improve his strength in the weight room, but when called into action the Jets coaches commented that he was much further along than first expected.

The Jets have a lot of decisions to make this off-season, especially on the offensive line. Both George Fant and Connor McGovern are set to hit free agency and as of right now its unclear if they have the desire to bring one or both of them back. Max if healthy will almost certainly be in that battle for the right tackle position.