Jets Depth: Interior Line Versatility

Yesterday we started a series based on depth questions a CBS article asks. Today's question is about the versatility on the interior of the offensive line.

Does your team have a solid inside offensive lineman that can play guard or center?

This one is a fairly definitive no. Nick Mangold would never be moved from center. There isn't much to suggest Brian Winters or Willie Colon could slide inside. The backups are unproven. Caleb Schlauderaff can play both positions, but there is little to suggest he could play either well. He has struggled to get on the field in three years. Probably the definitive statement on him is that he was never even considered for a starting audition last year even though the Jets had a gaping hole inside.

Up until a year ago the Jets did have a guard who could slide to center, Matt Slauson. They let him get away for less than $1 million, creating a need they still are trying to fill. I don't know whether John Idzik was too headstrong trying to weed out Tannenbaum players, the coaching staff didn't like him, Slauson was angry about the Jets inexplicably reducing his playing time in 2012, or some combination of these. It never really made sense to me how the Jets let him walk without any sort of credible Plan B. His ability to move to center in a pinch was probably the least of the problems in letting him go, but it doesn't reduce the current instability at guard.