Connor McGovern chooses Jets' practice squad over retirement to 'be a part of something special'

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Connor McGovern was sitting on his couch at home watching the New York Jets in their season opener on Monday night and couldn't help but yell at the TV and cheer on his buddies.

“My wife was like, ‘You’re not even on the team yet!'” McGovern said Thursday with a smile. “I was like, ‘Yeah, but those are my boys out there.’”

The veteran center had been contemplating retirement before coming in for a workout Wednesday with the Jets, the team with which he played the past four years. He was signed to their practice squad a few hours later.

“If or when this team goes to the playoffs and if I wasn’t helping in some capacity,” the 31-year-old McGovern said, “I’d be pretty disappointed that I didn’t seize any opportunity I had to come have another ride with this group and be a part of something special.”

McGovern was the team’s starting center until a dislocated left kneecap ended his year halfway through last season. He also had damage to his MCL in the knee from an injury in 2022. McGovern wore a full sleeve on his left leg as he practiced for the first time Thursday.

Joe Tippmann took over as the Jets’ center after McGovern's injury and did a solid job as a rookie and remains the starter. Meanwhile, McGovern became a free agent in the offseason and was coming off a serious knee injury.

“After I got hurt, I called my wife and was like, ‘Well, that’s it. We’re hanging 'em up,’” McGovern recalled. “And my agent was like, ‘No, no, there will be a spot for you somewhere. Just get healthy, come back and just be ready for an opportunity.’”

And it came at a familiar place.

“I really miss the guys,” he said. “I miss being around this building and being around this organization. And as soon as they gave me an opportunity to come back, I said, ‘Yeah, I need to be back.’”

McGovern spent his first four NFL seasons with Denver after being drafted in the fifth round out of Missouri in 2016. He signed as a free agent with the Jets in 2020 and was the anchor of New York’s offensive line until injuring his knee in Week 7 last year.

“There are some plateaus in there that I wasn’t expecting and a little bit of a longer journey than I really originally had anticipated,” he said of the rehabilitation period. “I normally take pride on being a quick healer and as I hit 30, I think I’m pretty average now.”

McGovern stayed in touch with many of his Jets teammates throughout the offseason, including quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He was part of a group outing with Rodgers in January when the QB made a hole-in-one — "best golf shot I've ever been around — in Las Vegas.

“I feel so much a part of this team and this organization,” McGovern said. “I’ve always been a Jet with a lot of pride and really enjoyed my time here. And yeah, the only team I’d be willing to come back to be on the P-squad on would be this one, for sure, with this group of guys.”

NOTES: LT Tyron Smith got a veteran rest day from practice after the Jets had a walkthrough session Wednesday. ... DL Javon Kinlaw had an excused second day away from the team for the birth of his son. ... DL Micheal Clemons (triceps), CB Michael Carter II (ankle) and CB D.J. Reed (knee) were limited.

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Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press