New York Jets

The Jets sit eighth in cap room at $34.5M but carry a league-fourth $95.2M dead-money burden that makes every big signing a careful calculation.

34 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Seven starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

The roster's top strength is its defensive front and safety pairing, headlined by a 90 overall MIKE and an 89 overall SS, while the weakest spot is quarterback, where the starter rates 72 overall and the backups are both below 65.

• FBmedium

  Andrew Beck is the only fullback on the roster, giving the Jets zero depth at the position and making it a medium priority to add competition or a successor.

• QBmedium

  Geno Smith starts but is entering the late stage of his career, and the backup options of Cade Klubnik and Bailey Zappe are both below 70 overall, making quarterback a clear medium-priority need.

• CBlow

  Brandon Stephens starts at CB1 but carries aging concerns and is a cut candidate, leaving D'Angelo Ponds and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. as the next options behind him.

• LTlow

  Olu Fashanu holds down the starting spot at 23 with a Star dev trait, but Max Mitchell and Courtland Ford behind him are low-rated backups, making depth a concern.

• LSlow
• Plow

  Austin McNamara is the starter at punter with a 72 overall, a serviceable but unspectacular option the Jets may want to upgrade.

• Clow

  Josh Myers starts at center with a 72 overall, and Xavier Newman behind him is a cut candidate, so adding a higher-quality backup should be on the agenda.

• West Coast Power RunoffensivePassable

  Breece Hall's Star-rated 87 overall gives the Jets the featured back this scheme demands, and Joe Tippmann and Armand Membou provide a young interior and right-side anchor to build a power run identity around.

• 4-3 Cover 2defensiveGood

  A deep and talented defensive line headlined by T'Vondre Sweat and David Bailey pairs naturally with Minkah Fitzpatrick's range at safety, making a two-deep shell a logical fit for this personnel.

• 78Harrison PhillipsDTReleasing Harrison Phillips frees $6.9M against only $610K in dead money, and with T'Vondre Sweat and David Onyemata ahead of him on the DT depth chart, his roster spot is difficult to justify at his price.Frees $6.9M · $610.0K dead
• 76Brandon StephensCBBrandon Stephens starts at CB1 but frees $9.0M if cut against $5.0M dead money, and with his aging designation the savings may be worth absorbing as the Jets seek a higher-upside corner.Frees $9.0M · $5.0M dead
• 72Kingsley EnagbareREDGEKingsley Enagbare sits third at REDGE behind David Bailey and Kingsley Enagbare frees $3.5M with only $1.5M in dead money, making him a straightforward cut to create cap flexibility.Frees $3.5M · $1.5M dead
• 56Xavier NewmanCXavier Newman is the backup center at just 56 overall and his release costs nothing in dead money while freeing $1.2M, making him an easy roster cleanup target.Frees $1.2M · $0 dead
• 62Landon YoungRTLandon Young is the third-string RT at 62 overall and releases cleanly with no dead money while freeing $1.1M, with Chukwuma Okorafor already filling the backup role.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead

The Jets carry real upside on both sides of the ball, led by Demario Davis and Minkah Fitzpatrick defensively and Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson offensively, but the team is caught in a difficult transitional moment. Demario Davis is in the final chapter of a brilliant career and cannot be counted on as the long-term anchor at MIKE, making linebacker succession an urgent background concern. Geno Smith's window as a starter is narrowing, and the current backup options offer little confidence. The good news is that Armand Membou and David Bailey represent a legitimately exciting young core on the two lines, and a salary cap that is currently carrying $95.2M in dead money, the fourth-highest burden in the league, will improve sharply as commitments roll off. With $101.0M in projected next-year cap room, the Jets are one aggressive offseason away from retooling meaningfully. The path forward requires resolving the quarterback room, clearing expensive low-value contracts, and letting the young talent at the edges and in the backfield develop into a contender.

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.