New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey was amongst the busiest people in the NFL on trade deadline day, swinging multiple franchise altering deals prior to the 4pm cutoff on Tuesday.
In what essentially amounts to waiving the white flag on the 2025 NFL campaign, the Jets dealt DL Quinnen Williams and CB Sauce Gardner in a pair of blockbuster deals. While the picks will certainly help a New York squad that has numerous holes in its lineup, they’ll do little to improve the on field product this season.
Nevertheless, when addressing the media, Mougey insisted that the team wasn’t planning on entering another rebuild. “I wouldn’t call it a teardown,” Mougey said. “The goal is always to win…Look, these coaches and players work too hard every day, all day, with the goal of winning on Sunday. And that never changes because that’s what the fans deserve. That’s what the players deserve, that’s what the coaches deserve, and that never changes.”
New York will have a war chest of picks to utilize to overhaul their roster next spring and beyond. When all was said and done, the Jets now hold:
2026
1st-round pick (NYJ)
1st-round pick (IND)
2nd-round pick (NYJ)
2nd-round pick (DAL)
2027
1st-round pick (NYJ)
1st-round pick (DAL)
1st-round pick (IND)
Not only that, but they also acquired two former top draft picks who had been under-utilized in their previous roles in DT Mazi Smith, and WR Adonai Mitchell. With all that draft capital, and some additional young pieces, there’s definitely potential with this Jets roster.
The problem is Jets fans have been sold on “potential” for the last 15 years. New York hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010, and despite regularly picking atop the draft board, haven’t had a winning season since 2015.
So while the mountain of high draft picks looks great on paper, fans can be forgiven if they’re leery of those who are actually making those picks on draft day, and subsequently coaching them up throughout the season.
New York has struggled with an apparent identity crisis for the last decade plus, cycling through 5 head coaches over the last 10 years. With a 57-115 record since Rex Ryan was relieved of his duties, the Jets have unsuccessfully tried to recreate their “defence first” philosophy which saw them make back to back AFC championship games in 2009-2010.
Since 2012, New York has had 19 different starting quarterbacks take to the field in green and white, which is approaching Cleveland Browns levels of futility under centre. And it would appear that this lack of a team culture has cost New York yet another NFL season.
Gardner, who was shipped off to Indianapolis on deadline day, had just signed a 4 year, $120M contract extension in July, and was amongst the most popular players on the team. But as Mougey puts it “Indianapolis kept getting richer and richer with their value, and eventually it was too good to pass up.”
That’s all well and good in a vacuum, but a winning brand of football starts with having people in the building who have bought into your system. Gardner, who since being taken 4th overall back in 2022 regularly ranks amongst the leagues highest graded corners, quite literally put pen to paper to commit to New York. This despite the fact that the Jets had little in the way of on field success during his time in the Big Apple.
Instead, Mougey & Co. opted to flip him for assets, while keeping their most disgruntled asset, Breece Hall, on the roster. Hall had been vocal about seeking a trade, and had one of the more watched social media accounts on Tuesday as he posted several memes, and eventually scrubbed his socials of any references to the Jets organization altogether.
The immensely talented running back was rumoured to have been on the trade block for a 3rd round pick. Kansas City is believed to have offered a 4th round pick for Hall, but the Jets stood firm on their asking price. Some will say, “Good for New York, they can always try to work something out in the summer”. And while that may be true, it’s hard to envision Hall, who is set to become a free agent at season’s end, wanting to do much in terms of re-upping with the Jets.
If that proves to be the case, it’s another example of poor asset management by a franchise that’s suddenly stocked up on future assets, and little in the way of current building blocks. It’s also a quick way to ensure that there’s a nice blend of toxicity in the locker room for the rest of the season by having a highly talented player on an expiring deal, who requested a trade, but will now likely get run into the ground because New York doesn’t see a future with him.
At some point, Hall will check out, and others around him will do the same. So why not flip him, recoup a day 2 pick, and see what you have in Isaiah Davis? If nothing else, it provides you clarity for the pecking order in 2026 when Braelon Allen returns from injury, and probably helps in your “we’re not saying it’s a tank, but really it’s a tank” strategy you’ve got in place post trade deadline.
Instead the Jets have opted for what amounts to be the opposite of team building as they’ll have a disgruntled star player, a first time head coach, zero clarity on who your starting QB is from week to week, and one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. Oh and by the way, you have to deal with the always forgiving New York media every week as well. Have fun!
If you’re going to commit to a strategy, commit whole heartedly. The Jets aren’t a piece or two away from contending. So the “it’s not a rebuild, it’s a retool” mindset is just a word salad that means little in the grand scheme of things. Why Hall, Jermaine Johnson, and Quincy Williams are still on the roster is beyond comprehension at this point.
But then again, it’s the Jets folks. And by now, fans are sadly getting used to it…
Photo: New York Jets. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner