The Jets could have been flagged for a false start before Saturday’s preseason game against the Saints.

After saying center Ryan Kalil would make his debut Saturday, the Jets reversed course. General manager Joe Douglas announced before the game that Kalil would not play.

“After further discussion with Ryan, with Adam [Gase, head coach], with Frank [Pollack, offensive line coach], we felt the best thing for him and the team tonight would be to hold him out of the game,” Douglas said. “As you guys know, Sunday night was his first night in pads. He’s only had really three practices. We felt the smart thing to do was to hold him out. We’ll reevaluate it next week. We’re 15 days away from the opener so we feel good that he’s going to have plenty of time to be ready for Week 1.”

Kalil signed with the Jets on Aug. 3, ending his retirement after agreeing to a one-year, $8.4 million deal with the team. The Jets have eased his way into practice, with him not practicing fully until last Sunday. He practiced with the starters this week, but the Jets clearly felt he was not ready.

“It was just Adam, Frank, Ryan, myself, we hashed it out and we decided that maybe tonight wasn’t the right night. He’s really a week in pads,” Douglas said.

Jonotthan Harrison got the start at center in place of Kalil. The Jets also had Alex Lewis and Tom Compton starting at guard with Kelechi Osemele (pec) and Brian Winters (shoulder) injured.

“We feel good about where we depth wise with this offensive line,” Douglas said. “It’s always going to be a point of emphasis for us.”

The Jets starting offensive line is going to enter Week 1 with very little practice time together thanks to the injuries and Kalil’s late arrival. Douglas said he is not concerned about it, though.