A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:
1. Dealer’s choice: With only three games remaining before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, the Jets must take stock of their roster and decide whether they want to be aggressive at making moves. At 0-5, they probably will get flooded with calls from teams looking for a fire sale.
Wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner would’ve been hot commodities, but they signed long-term extensions before training camp. Other players figure to draw interest, most notably:
Running back Breece Hall
He is in the final year of his rookie contract and a productive player (eighth in total scrimmage yards), which should make him attractive to contending teams. He’s been the subject of trade rumors since the draft, and they will only intensify.
“I’m in my fourth year, and I don’t have a lot of time left to prove what I can do and who I want to be in this league,” Hall said after last week’s loss, sounding as if the losing is taking a toll.
Addressing trade rumors Friday, Hall said, “I want to be here. I love being a New York Jet and everything. At the end of the day, I don’t control what goes on.”
The Braelon Allen situation — he will miss at least two months with a knee injury — complicates matters at running back. If the Jets deal Hall, they’d leave themselves perilously thin.
Unless it’s a player-for-player swap, bringing back, say, a starting wide receiver, a Hall trade would signal to the locker room they’re giving up on the season. Conversely, if they do nothing, they risk losing him in the offseason as a free agent.
Linebacker Quincy Williams
He, too, will be a free agent and his future is cloudy.
The Jets already paid one off-ball linebacker (Jamien Sherwood), so reupping with Williams seems unlikely, especially since they had a chance to lock him up before the season. His age (29) is working against him. The new regime could look to add more size at linebacker; Williams is only 5-foot-11, 230 pounds.
A trade might make sense. Williams (shoulder) is eligible to come off injured reserve in two weeks, so he could be healthy before the deadline.
Nickel back Michael Carter II
He got a sweetheart deal 13 months ago from former general manager Joe Douglas — a three-year, $31 million extension. Since then, he has battled injuries and hasn’t played well.
New GM Darren Mougey drafted Malachi Moore and recently traded for Jarvis Brownlee Jr., both of whom play nickel. The writing is on the wall.
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams
Yes, this would be an absolute stunner. Williams is arguably their best overall player, still in the prime of his career (turns 28 in December), and he’s under team control for two more years after signing a four-year, $96 million extension in 2023.
That said, he’d bring back at least a first-round pick. We know Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks highly of him. Extra draft capital could help position the Jets for a quarterback in the 2026 draft if they don’t feel Justin Fields is the long-term answer.
This probably will be an offseason storyline, especially if Williams — frustrated by seven years of losing — decides to push the issue.
2. Jolly good time: To prepare for Sunday’s game (9:30 a.m. ET, NFLN, NFL+) against the Denver Broncos, the Jets spent the week in London instead of arriving early Friday, as they did on their previous trips. Coach Aaron Glenn wanted the extra time to get settled and acclimated to the time difference.
Another potential benefit? Team bonding.
Staying in the suburbs, away from the buzz of central London, Glenn’s hope was to create a “together vibe” at their team hotel, an old country estate. During their time away, he encouraged players to get to know teammates they normally wouldn’t talk to.
Hey, when you’re the only winless team in the NFL, you try anything.
Will that solve their tackling issues and penalty problem? We’ll soon find out.
“I guess you could say it’s a little getaway from the madness that’s happening right now,” tight end Mason Taylor said, alluding to the anti-Jets uproar in New York.
3. Tuna helpers: For the second time in four weeks, Glenn will face one of his mentors. First it was Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles. Now it’s Sean Payton, who, like Glenn, is a Bill Parcells disciple.
“That’s just the way the league is,” Parcells told ESPN. “Sometimes you have to coach and play against your friends. That’s not always the most fun. Sometimes it represents a greater challenge.”
Glenn played for Payton on the New Orleans Saints and later coached under him there. He said he owes a lot to Payton, adding, “Listen, he’s one of the guys that I love everything about who he is and what he’s about, and I’m looking forward to competing against him because I know how he is. This will be a competitive battle between both of us.”
Payton told Denver reporters he last spoke with him the night before Glenn accepted the Jets’ job. He called Glenn a “tremendous coach.”
“Aaron’s getting things built there,” Payton said. “I know how he was as a player, and I know how intense and diligent he was as a coach for us. I’m happy to see him get that opportunity, and it’s much deserved.”
4. Just-in time: Fields has been criticized throughout his career for holding the ball too long, resulting in unnecessary sacks. His average time to throw, from snap to release, is the second-longest in the NFL this season — 3.09 seconds, per Next Gen Stats. He’s slightly quicker than Caleb Williams (3.17), the quarterback who replaced him with the Chicago Bears. This reinforces the narrative that Fields is slow to process.
He took umbrage with that.
“I don’t think that’s a credible stat, so to say, if I’m being honest with you,” he told reporters in London, explaining that his time is skewed because he does so much scrambling.
He’s right about that, but here’s the thing: Nowadays, the tracking system is so sophisticated that it can calculate a quarterback’s time to throw from various release points. For instance, from the pocket, Fields’ release time is 2.83 seconds — still relatively slow. The only player with a longer time from the pocket is the San Francisco 49ers‘ Brock Purdy (2.85).
That explains, in part, why Fields is 25th in sack percentage.
5. Did you know? Fields’ passing-yardage total is padded because he’s been playing catch-up in the fourth quarter — we’re talking 40% of his yards in the final quarter — but this might surprise you, his Total QBR in the fourth quarter (48.8) is lower than the first three quarters (59.1).
6. Pressure on the captain: Discussing Sherwood’s play, Glenn left the distinct impression he expects more from the $45 million middle linebacker. He said Sherwood is playing well but suggested that he’s pressing.
“Sometimes when you have that C on your chest, sometimes when you get that big contract, sometimes you feel like you need to do more,” said Glenn, confident they can get him “dialed back.”
Sherwood is the quarterback of the defense, which lacks cohesion. He said he bears responsibility.
7. Silver lining dept: The Jets have three losses by six points or less, tied for the most in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals.
8. Climbing: Wilson moved into 10th place on the team’s career receptions list (312). At his current pace, he would break Don Maynard’s franchise record (627) in 2028.
9. Chess or checkers? Football is all about moves and countermoves. The pass rush has disappeared in recent weeks, in part, because they’re facing more max protection schemes than most teams do. Now it’s on defensive coordinator Steve Wilks to cook up creative ways to get his best pass rushers in one-on-one situations. The expected return of defensive end Jermaine Johnson should help. No team faces more max protection than the Broncos, and they have a league-high 21 sacks.
10. The last word: “We’re 0-5, and the defense has been the problem, the reason why we’re 0-5.” – Quinnen Williams
