The New York Jets are coming off a disappointing 3-14 record after the 2025 NFL season and as such, they are looking to improve the roster in a significant way. New York only has so many moves that it can make after committing to a full rebuild in the middle of last season and some league executives gave their thoughts on what the Jets have done thus far.
“People were crushing them for getting old guys, but you gotta give Aaron Glenn a chance,” one executive said to The Athletic’s Mike Sando. “Since this offseason began, the Jets have added talent to the roster through various moves such as placing the franchise tag on running back Breece Hall, trading for Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, and signing quarterback Geno Smith to presumably be the starter next season.
“To completely tank next year to try to get the quarterback the following year and build around the draft capital they got from the Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner trades, you still gotta raise the floor and turn the culture,” the exec continued, per Sando. “You don’t want to be like Cleveland with a tanking culture hanging over your franchise.”
While Hall is just 24 years old, Fitzpatrick (29) and Smith (35) are not on the same timeline as players like Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson (25). However, the assumption is that New York would sign Hall to a long-term contract at some point before the season starts and Wilson is already signed through the 2030 season. When it comes to the Jets signing Smith, it seems like some around the league see New York just doing the same incorrect action.
“The Jets keep doing the same thing. They trade good players off their team, they get draft picks, nobody wants to play there, they are a young team, they have to find a journeyman quarterback,” one exec said, per Sando. “Then they bring in all these picks, they can’t find a quarterback still, and then they trade all those players for more picks and still can’t find a quarterback.”
To that executive’s point, the Jets haven’t had a Pro-Bowl quarterback since Brett Favre during the 2008 season and the last Jets quarterback to be an All-Pro was Joe Namath in 1968. Smith is not the long-term answer for the Jets at the quarterback spot, but the hope is that New York can be in a position to select Texas quarterback Arch Manning in the 2027 NFL Draft and finally have their signal-caller of the future.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: NFL execs analyze Jets’ free-agency moves prior to 2026 NFL Draft
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Jets Wire / Jets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
