We wish Nick Mangold a quick rehab on injured reserve and into the offseason and a return to form in 2017. But his departure gives us a chance to reflect on what can arguably be called the five "eras" of Jets center.
It could be luck or foresight or a mixture of both, but the franchise has had a remarkable run of centers from the Sixties to today, with very little buffer from one to the next.
It began with John Schmitt, the free agent from Hofstra who took over the pivot in Joe Namath's first full year as the starting QB in 1966 and held it without missing a game through 1973.