New York Jets

The Jets carry a brutal $95.2M in dead money, ranked 4th most in the league, but $34.1M in current cap room and a projected $98.2M next season signal that the financial pain is cresting and relief is close.

27 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Six starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

With nine picks in the upcoming draft including three first-rounders, and 23 total selections across a three-year window with five first-rounders accumulated, the Jets have among the best draft resources in the league to fund a rebuild despite their current roster limitations.

• 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 run game and safety play, anchored by Breece Hall, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Demario Davis, while cornerback is the clearest weakness, with the starting group ranking 29th leaguewide in a unit that is also 28th in depth.

• CBhigh

  Brandon Stephens starts at corner on a unit ranked 29th in starter quality and 28th in depth, making cornerback the most urgent need on the entire roster.

• QBhigh

  Geno Smith starts under center but ranks 27th among starting quarterbacks leaguewide, and with Cade Klubnik as the only backup the position is both weak and thin.

• Cmedium

  Josh Myers is the starter at center but the unit ranks 22nd leaguewide, and the backup options behind him are interior linemen filling in rather than true centers.

• DTmedium

  T'Vondre Sweat leads a defensive tackle group that ranks 26th in starter quality, though the depth ranks a respectable 10th, suggesting an upgrade at the top matters most.

• FBmedium

  Andrew Beck starts at fullback and ranks 9th among the 15 teams that roster a fullback starter, a serviceable but unspectacular situation for a team running a zone-run scheme.

• LEDGEmedium

  Will McDonald IV starts at left edge but ranks 24th leaguewide, and the depth behind him is thin, making an upgrade at LEDGE an important secondary priority.

• LTmedium

  Olu Fashanu starts at left tackle but ranks 26th leaguewide, and the backup depth ranks 22nd, so developing Fashanu quickly or adding competition is necessary.

• TEmedium

  Kenyon Sadiq starts at tight end but the position ranks 26th in starter quality, though the depth pool ranks 8th, meaning positional volume exists but top-end talent is missing.

• FSlow

  Dane Belton starts at free safety in a group that ranks 23rd leaguewide, a lower-priority hole backed by Andre Cisco but still worth monitoring as the roster is upgraded.

• 77Harrison PhillipsDTCutting Harrison Phillips frees $6.9M against only $610K in dead money, and he is the third defensive tackle on the depth chart behind T'Vondre Sweat and David Onyemata, making him an easy savings target.Frees $6.9M · $610.0K dead
• 77Brandon StephensCBBrandon Stephens starts at corner but releasing him frees $9.0M at the cost of $5.0M in dead money, and the Jets rank 29th at the position, meaning that cap space is better deployed on a meaningful upgrade.Frees $9.0M · $5.0M dead
• 73Jordan MeredithRGJordan Meredith is the second-string right guard behind Joe Tippmann and releasing him is a clean cut that frees $3.5M with zero dead money.Frees $3.5M · $0 dead
• 73Kingsley EnagbareREDGEKingsley Enagbare is the third edge rusher on the REDGE depth chart behind David Bailey and Joseph Ossai, and cutting him frees $3.5M against $1.5M in dead money.Frees $3.5M · $1.5M dead
• 66Max MitchellLTMax Mitchell is the backup left tackle behind Olu Fashanu and releasing him frees $1.8M at just $180K in dead money, a small but clean cap recovery.Frees $1.8M · $180.0K dead

The Jets hand you a roster with genuine strengths on the interior offensive line, at receiver with Garrett Wilson, and in the secondary around Minkah Fitzpatrick and Demario Davis, but the franchise is constrained by circumstances that make a quick turnaround difficult. Geno Smith is the starting quarterback and ranks near the bottom of the league at the position, which caps the ceiling of any offense built around him. Davis, a 90-overall anchor at MIKE and an X Factor, is deep into his career and cannot be counted on to carry the defense for more than another season or two. Fitzpatrick, while still elite, is also entering a phase of his career where succession planning should begin. On the positive side, the young core of Armand Membou at right tackle and David Bailey at REDGE gives the defense a Superstar-trait pass rusher at 23 and a 22-year-old Star lineman to build around. Breece Hall at 25 and Garrett Wilson at 26 give the offense proven playmakers in their primes. The $95.2M in dead cap is the most paralyzing factor, but $34.1M in current cap room and a projected $98.2M in cap room next season mean financial relief is coming. With three first-round picks among nine total upcoming selections, the Jets have meaningful draft capital to accelerate the rebuild, and the path forward runs through upgrading the quarterback, the corners, and the edge while the young core matures.

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.