New York Jets

The Jets sit tenth in current cap room at $34.1M but carry the fourth-highest dead-cap load in the league at $95.2M, making today a financial squeeze that opens dramatically next year with $98.2M projected in room.

25 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Four starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

The Jets hold nine picks in the current draft, including two first-rounders acquired from the Colts and Cowboys, and 23 total selections over three years, giving the rebuild real ammunition.

• Acquired: Round 6 from Chiefs, this draft
• Acquired: Round 1 from Colts, this draft
• Acquired: Round 1 from Cowboys, this draft
• Acquired: Round 6 from Eagles, this draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Seahawks, next draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Chargers, next draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Vikings, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Panthers, this draft

The roster's top strength is its safety tandem and skill-position nucleus on offense, while the weakest spot is cornerback, where the starter ranks 30th in the league.

• CBhigh

  Brandon Stephens starts at cornerback despite ranking 30th among starters league-wide, making this the most urgent positional need on the roster.

• DThigh

  T'Vondre Sweat leads a defensive tackle group that ranks 27th in starter quality, with depth propped up by Harrison Phillips and the twilight David Onyemata.

• QBhigh

  Geno Smith is the starter but ranks 27th at his position, and with Cade Klubnik (67 overall) as the backup, upgrading quarterback is critical to the franchise's ceiling.

• Cmedium

  Josh Myers holds down the center spot but ranks 22nd among starting centers, a gap that could be closed through free agency or the draft.

• LTmedium

  Olu Fashanu starts at left tackle and ranks 26th among starters, so developing the 23-year-old Star quickly or adding competition is a near-term priority.

• TEmedium

  Kenyon Sadiq starts at tight end and the group ranks 26th in starter quality, though the unit's depth grades out sixth in the league and features young upside from Sadiq and Mason Taylor.

• FSlow

  Dane Belton starts at free safety and ranks 21st, a moderate gap the team can address without treating it as a top-priority fix.

• LEDGElow

  Will McDonald IV starts at left edge but ranks 23rd among starters, and the depth behind him, Joseph Ossai and Braiden McGregor, offers little comfort.

• 77Harrison PhillipsDTReleasing Harrison Phillips frees $6.9M against only $610K in dead money, and he is the second defensive tackle on the depth chart behind T'Vondre Sweat on a unit that already needs an upgrade at the top.Frees $6.9M · $610.0K dead
• 77Brandon StephensCBBrandon Stephens carries $9.0M in cap savings against $5.0M in dead money, and cutting him only makes sense if a meaningful upgrade is available, since he is currently the starting cornerback on a depth chart ranked 30th league-wide.Frees $9.0M · $5.0M dead
• 73Jordan MeredithRGJordan Meredith releases cleanly with $3.5M freed and zero dead money, and he sits second on the right guard depth chart behind the 83 overall Joe Tippmann.Frees $3.5M · $0 dead
• 73Kingsley EnagbareREDGEKingsley Enagbare frees $3.5M against $1.5M in dead money and is the second edge rusher on the REDGE chart and also listed behind Will McDonald IV at WILL linebacker, making him a redundant depth piece.Frees $3.5M · $1.5M dead
• 66Max MitchellLTMax Mitchell frees $1.8M against just $180K in dead money and is the second left tackle on the depth chart behind Olu Fashanu, offering minimal upside at 66 overall.Frees $1.8M · $180.0K dead

The Jets carry genuine star power on both sides of the ball in Minkah Fitzpatrick, Garrett Wilson, and Breece Hall, but the franchise is defined right now by its liabilities as much as its assets. Geno Smith is a stopgap starter at quarterback, and finding a real answer there is the precondition for everything else. Demario Davis continues to play at a high level but is entering the final chapter of his career, so succession at MIKE cannot wait. The offensive line features a potentially special young piece in Armand Membou and a developing Olu Fashanu at left tackle, but both need support. The cornerback room is among the weakest in the league with Stephens atop the chart, and the dead-cap load of $95.2M, the fourth highest in the league, will constrain roster moves in the short term. The good news is that the cap picture clears sharply, and a strong draft-capital stockpile, including multiple first-round picks, gives the front office real tools to accelerate the rebuild.

The Jets were born in 1960 as the Titans of New York, a charter member of the upstart American Football League, founded by Harry Wismer and playing their first seasons at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan. Coached by Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh, the Titans went 7-7 in both 1960 and 1961 but hemorrhaged money; by 1962 the AFL had to assume the team's operating costs. In 1963 a five-man syndicate led by Sonny Werblin bought the bankrupt franchise for $1 million, renamed the team the New York Jets, switched the colors to green and white, and hired Weeb Ewbank as coach and general manager. The defining moment came after the Jets signed Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to a then-record three-year, $427,000 contract in January 1965. New York posted its first winning record in 1967, won the AFL Championship in 1968, and then pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history: three days after Namath 'guaranteed' a win, the Jets beat the heavily favored Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III on January 12, 1969, as roughly 18-point underdogs. Namath was MVP; the victory legitimized the AFL ahead of the 1970 merger. It remains the franchise's only Super Bowl appearance and only championship. Since then the arc has been mostly frustration punctuated by flashes: the 'New York Sack Exchange' defensive line and playoff berths in the early 1980s, a Bill Parcells-led resurgence and 1998 AFC title-game run, and back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in 2009 and 2010 under Rex Ryan. The Jets have not returned to the playoffs since that 2010 run, the longest active postseason drought in North America's major men's sports leagues, pushed to 15 straight seasons by their 2025 elimination.