Tuesday afternoon was a mixture of emotions for Jets left tackle Ryan Clady. A combination of both incredibly awesome, and rather awkward.

With the Jets taking the practice field for their eighth OTA workout, Clady was en-route to Washington D.C. to meet the President of the United States. While he didn’t play a down for the Denver Broncos last year, he was on the roster that won a Super Bowl title and thus, a trip to the White House.

Again, an emotional roller coaster: Thrilled to meet President Barack Obama, but weird being around a team he’s no longer a part of.

“Yeah, it was a little awkward,” Clady said by his locker, “But to shake hands with Obama? Can’t beat that.”

It seems like a far distant memory now, but it wasn’t all that long ago that Clady was viewed as one of the league’s best at the tackle position. A perennial Pro Bowler, Clady protected the quarterback’s blindside for the Broncos ever since his selection in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft.

But then injury after injury began to ravage Clady’s career. Suddenly, he went from “All-Pro,” to a regular on Denver’s injured reserve. When he missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in the offseason — his second year out in the last three — and possessing a rather large cap hit, Clady figured his days in Denver were numbered.

“It was a contract situation,” Clady said. “They felt they needed to move on. I think it was a good chance for me as well. . . I knew there was a good chance of it happening. I was kind of mentally preparing for it.”

When D’Brickashaw Ferguson retired, and thus left a vacancy at the Jets left tackle position, GM Mike Maccagnan wasted no time before agreeing to a deal to acquire Clady. Basically, the Jets replaced one of the best offensive lineman the franchise had ever seen. . . with (when healthy) one of the best offensive lineman in the league.

To this point though, the Jets haven’t been able to see too much of what Clady’s capable of. Yes, he’s 100 percent recovered from that ACL injury, but the Jets are taking their time with him. He’s been limited throughout OTAs, rotating in-and-out during team drills.

“I don’t pace him as being ahead or behind, but he’s doing a lot better than what I thought he would be doing,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday. “He’s rusty because he hasn’t played.

“He’s been looking fine ever since then, but he’s rehabbing and he’s getting better. And he’s moving better.”

Clady says he expects to be back in full when the Jets report for training camp towards the end of next month. Once he gets back on the field, the goal is staying there. . . for multiple reasons.

While Clady is focused on the Jets, and helping them have success, there’s still a part of him that’s a bit miffed at the Broncos. After all, be it for injuries, contract or any other number of reasons, the team decided they were better off without him, rather than with him.

And that? Well, that doesn’t sit very well with the big left tackle.

“It stings a little bit,” Clady said. “I have a chip on my shoulder. Something to prove. I’m ready for a challenge.”

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Connor Hughes covers the Jets and is the managing editor of Jets Wire. He can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes), or via email (chughes@usatoday.com)