Steelers ‘Optimistic’ T.J. Watt Will Play In Week 18
The Steelers have gone three games in a row without star pass rusher T.J. Watt. With the AFC North title at stake in Week 18, Watt may return to face the Ravens on Sunday.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said he’s “optimistic about” Watt’s “potential inclusion” in this week’s do-or-die showdown between division rivals (via Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports). Watt’s most recent appearance came in a 27-22 win over the Ravens in Week 14. He underwent surgery on a partially collapsed lung a few days later.
Watt suffered his injury during a dry needling session – a common treatment – at the team facility. The NFLPA quickly made contact with Watt afterward, though it’s unknown if he’ll take action against the Steelers’ medical staff.
The Steelers have been Watt’s only NFL team since he entered the league as the 30th pick in the 2017 draft. Pittsburgh signed Watt to a record-setting extension worth $123MM over three years last summer. The club awarded the former Defensive Player of the Year an eye-popping $108MM in fully guaranteed money.
Despite sitting out three games, Watt has earned his eighth straight Pro Bowl nod this season. The 31-year-old has racked up 53 tackles, 43 pressures, 18 QB hits, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception in 2025. With a playoff berth on the line, Watt rejoining fellow edge rushers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig against Baltimore would be ideal for Pittsburgh. That’s especially the case if the Ravens have two-time MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose status is uncertain as a result of a back injury.
Backup Tyler Huntley filled in for Jackson in a 41-24 win over the Packers in Week 17. Running back Derrick Henry‘s 216-yard, four-touchdown masterclass was the driving force in keeping the Ravens’ season alive in Lambeau Field on Saturday. The Watt-less Steelers could have clinched the division and eliminated the Ravens with a win on Sunday, but they fell 13-6 to the last-place Browns. An offense missing its two best wide receivers – the suspended D.K. Metcalf and the injured Calvin Austin – couldn’t get anything going in Cleveland.
There’s a chance Austin will come back from a hamstring injury in the regular-season finale, but Metcalf and injured tight end Darnell Washington won’t be available. With a shorthanded offense, the Steelers may need a stifling defensive performance to knock out the Ravens and earn their first AFC North crown since 2020. If that’s the case, Watt’s return would boost their chances.
Jets Notes: Johnson, McDonald, Rodgers
One of the players mentioned as trade candidates ahead of what turned out to be a franchise-reshaping deadline for the Jets, Jermaine Johnson has not rebounded from his 2024 Achilles tear effectively. Entering Week 18, the former first-round pick has three sacks on just six QB hits. The team is believed to have asked for a second-round pick in a trade last month, potentially being offered a Round 2 selection in a pick-swap proposal, and rejected a third-round offer for the fourth-year defender. That may have been a mistake.
The Jets picked up Johnson’s fifth-year option this offseason, doing so despite changing regimes and the current one seeing the 2022 first-rounder rehabbing from the 2024 injury. But an extension should not be considered likely. The chances of an offseason payday in 2026 appear “slim,” according to ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. Johnson did impress in his previous healthy season (2023), leading to the Jets’ decision to exercise the $13.41MM 2026 option. That number is fully guaranteed. If no offseason extension is on the radar for Johnson, he would stand to again be a trade candidate. The Jets do hold exclusive negotiating rights with Johnson until March 2027, but it appears he will need to show more of his 2023 form (7.5 sacks, 16 QB hits) to warrant a second Jets contract.
Here is the latest from Gang Green:
- The team’s other starting defensive end, Will McDonald, was viewed as closer to untouchable at the deadline. After a 10.5-sack 2024 season, McDonald leads the Jets with eight entering Week 18. But his 2027 fifth-year option (projected at around $15MM) may not be automatic for the Darren Mougey-Aaron Glenn regime, Cimini notes. Four of McDonald’s sacks came in one game — against the Browns — and he ranks 54th in QB pressures (20). Consistency has been an issue for the 2023 first-rounder, per Cimini. Considering McDonald’s 10.5-sack, 24-hit 2024, it would surprise if the Jets passed on his option. After all, they exercised Johnson’s after he showed less through three seasons. But some big questions are in place along the Jets’ post-Quinnen Williams defensive line moving forward.
- OverTheCap currently lists Aaron Rodgers as accounting for $35MM in dead money on the Jets’ 2026 cap sheet, but that may be set for an adjustment. The two-year New York quarterback is now expected to count $28MM in dead cap next year, per CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. A $7MM cap credit is behind the disparity, with Corry noting it stems from an nonexercised option bonus. That $7MM ended up being applied to the Jets’ 2025 cap, which will leave them with some additional space in 2026. If Rodgers will count $28MM on Gang Green’s 2026 cap sheet, the team is projected to hold nearly $90MM in cap space entering 2026. Rodgers still tagged the Jets with $56MM in total dead cap — the second-highest single-player total in NFL history — in total, though it looks like the team will end up paying $28MM in both 2025 and ’26 rather than backloading the punishment.
- The Jets have already fired DC Steve Wilks, continuing the veteran staffer’s nomadic career since his Cardinals one-and-done, and more changes are likely. Defensive line coach Eric Washington is a name to watch with regard to a shakeup, Cimini adds. Washington and Wilks have an extensive past, as both worked on Ron Rivera‘s Panthers staff for most of the 2010s. While the duo went their separate ways after Wilks’ 2018 Arizona hire, with Washington later becoming the Bears’ DC in 2024, Glenn axing a longtime Wilks coworker would add up as he considers changes after a wildly disappointing season.
Northwestern To Hire Chip Kelly As OC
After a brief return to the NFL, Chip Kelly is going back to college. Northwestern is hiring Kelly as its offensive coordinator, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.
Kelly previously worked as an offensive coordinator at three other schools – New Hampshire, Oregon and Ohio State – and combined for over a decade of experience. His success as Oregon’s play caller from 2007-08 led to a promotion to head coach in 2009.
Then known as an innovator, Kelly and his fast-paced offense thrived during his four-year stretch as the Ducks’ sideline leader. Under Kelly’s guidance, Oregon posted an incredible 46-7 record and played in four straight BCS bowls.
After winning the Fiesta Bowl to conclude the 2012 season, Kelly made his first jump to the NFL when the Eagles hired him as their head coach to replace Andy Reid. Kelly’s tenure in Philadelphia didn’t go as hoped, however. After back-to-back 10-win seasons and one playoff berth, the Eagles, then 6-9, fired Kelly late in 2015. He finished 26-21 in Philly.
While Kelly immediately landed another NFL head coaching job in San Francisco, he was a one-and-done after a 2-14 showing in 2016. Kelly resurfaced at the college level two years later as UCLA’s head coach.
The Bruins went a mediocre 35-34 in six seasons under Kelly, who left to work as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2024. It proved to be a wise decision for Kelly and the Buckeyes. Thanks in part to Kelly’s offense, Ohio State won the national championship. Current NFL rookies TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins and Emeka Egbuka were among the team’s offensive stars.
Kelly impressed enough during his lone season in Columbus that it led to another NFL opportunity. Shortly after grabbing the reins as the Raiders’ head coach, Pete Carroll hired Kelly as his offensive coordinator. Part-owner Tom Brady was instrumental in bringing in Kelly, who became the league’s highest-paid O-coordinator. Despite that, Kelly didn’t even last the year. With the Raiders averaging a paltry 15 points per game through 12 weeks, Carroll fired Kelly on Nov. 24.
Carroll reportedly exerted heavy influence over the Raiders’ offense, which irked Kelly. Considering the success Kelly has enjoyed in college, he shouldn’t run into that problem at Northwestern. Head coach David Braun called the Kelly hiring “a program-defining change” that’s “reflective of our long-term commitment to the pursuit of championships” (via Thamel).
The 61-year-old Kelly will take charge of an offense that ranked an underwhelming 12th out of 18 Big Ten teams in 2025. The Wildcats finished 7-6 and ended their year with a 34-7 win over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
Cowboys To Waive CB Trevon Diggs
Viewed as a clear release candidate in 2026, Trevon Diggs will instead become available earlier. The Cowboys are waiving him ahead of Week 18, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports.
This exit comes barely two years after Diggs signed a five-year, $97MM extension. Knee injuries have significantly limited the former All-Pro on this deal. Diggs has played in just eight games this season, bouncing in and out of Dallas’ lineup. That said, he played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps during a Week 17 win over Washington.
A team claiming Diggs would be responsible for his final 2025 game check, which NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes is worth $473K. No guaranteed money is on the contract following the 2025 season, though the pact runs through 2028. This figure would make a claim worth considering, particularly for contenders who have seen injuries affect their cornerback situations.
If Diggs goes unclaimed by 3pm CT Wednesday, he heads to free agency for the first time. The Cowboys will be tagged with $5.88MM in 2026 dead money due to this cut, per Spotrac. A post-June 1 designation would have only saved the Cowboys $4.25MM in 2026, NFL.com’s Jane Slater notes.
A specific incident is not believed to have prompted the Cowboys to move on early, per Pelissero, who notes a “culmination of factors” led the team to jettison the sixth-year corner now. This relationship has steadily deteriorated. The Cowboys were all but certain to release Diggs following Super Bowl LX, when cap-casualty transactions begin, but they will subtract from an injury-battered CB corps early. Considering the team is without DaRon Bland for the season and saw rookie Shavon Revel suffer a concussion against the Commanders, this is an interesting move. Though, the Cowboys have been eliminated from the playoff race for a bit now.
The Cowboys activated Diggs from IR before their Week 16 game. He had landed on the injured list due to the lingering knee injury along with a concussion. Diggs, 27, had said he was healthy enough to play before the activation. Playing 84% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps against the Chargers ahead of his full-time role on Christmas, Diggs told Slater he is healthy enough to play and wants to join a playoff team soon.
Diggs had said he was upset after showing what he felt was sufficient form in practice only to be kept in the IR-return window for Week 15. This comment came after a meeting with Brian Schottenheimer. The Cowboys placed Diggs on IR in late October; the concussion he sustained occurred at his home, offering another complication for a player who was once the centerpiece of Dallas’ CB plan.
Although Diggs was ready to go by Week 1 after limited summer participation following knee surgery, he struggled this season and had proven to be a poor fit in Matt Eberflus‘ zone-based defense. But Diggs will not have a chance to redeem himself with the Cowboys, who are expected to fire their first-year DC after the season.
Pro Football Focus ranked the 6-foot-2 defender 80th among qualified corners, but Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics viewed even that as an oversell of the former second-round pick’s performance. As the closest defender in coverage, Diggs has been charged with allowing a 77.3% completion rate and a near-perfect passer rating (157.2) in his eight-game season. While these numbers came on just 22 targets, Diggs did not live up to the extension he signed before the 2023 season.
The Cowboys rewarded Diggs ahead of his contract year, agreeing to the five-year extension during the same summer stretch in which they paid right tackle Terence Steele. Dallas famously delayed paying both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb that summer, leading to windfalls for both players ahead of 2024 contract years. The Prescott and Lamb deals drew criticism regarding delays the Cowboys have become famous for, with the Micah Parsons saga following a similar timeline before the blockbuster trade. While Dallas and Diggs agreed on a long-term extension the organization typically prefers on second contracts, the corner ran into injury trouble almost immediately.
Diggs suffered an ACL tear in a September 2023 practice, finishing that season with just two games played. He has been unable to reestablish his pre-injury form, missing six games last season and eight contests in 2025. Diggs suffered a calf tear in 2024 as well, later being shut down due to another knee surgery. The Cowboys decided to extend Bland this summer, doing so after drafting Revel in Round 3. Those developments pointed to a Diggs exit.
Any team to claim Diggs would have him signed for three more seasons following this campaign, but seeing as he has not come close to living up to the contract, a contender could also submit a claim and then release the corner after the season.
Diggs, however, has shown top form in the past. While developing a reputation for being a gambler in coverage, the Alabama alum intercepted 11 passes in 2021 to lock down first-team All-Pro honors. Diggs’ 11 picks were the most anyone had snared in a season since Everson Walls‘ Cowboys rookie year (1981). Diggs (20 career INTs) also made the Pro Bowl in 2022, cinching up an extension candidacy.
It will be interesting to see if Diggs is claimed or lands anywhere before season’s end. Otherwise, he would have some time to prepare for free agency in 2026. The Cowboys will need to make another cornerback investment before their offseason program, among other moves to upgrade a struggling defense, as the Kaiir Elam trade also did not do much to help their situation this season. After seeing the Cowboys decline his fifth-year option, Elam is due for 2026 free agency.
Patriots WR Stefon Diggs Facing Strangulation, Assault Charges
Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs is facing a charge of felony strangulation or suffocation as well as a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery, according to records from Dedham District Court (Mass.) released on Tuesday.
As detailed by Matt Schooley of CBS News Boston, the charges stem from an alleged incident which took place on December 2. Diggs has denied the allegations. The 32-year-old wide receiver’s arraignment is set to take place January 23, though Schooley notes a judge agreed to consider delaying the it until March.
“The New England Patriots are aware of the accusations that have been made regarding Stefon Diggs,” a team statement reads. “Stefon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations. We support Stefon. We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary. Out of respect for all parties involved, and given that this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Diggs has made a financial offer to resolve the dispute with the alleged victim, according to Schooley. Diggs’ attorney argued for the police report to be impounded in order to have the details remain sealed. As it stands, details are sparse at this time. Since the charges stem from an unknown incident, it is difficult to project a potential stay on the rarely used commissioner’s exempt list. That would sideline Diggs while the case is being adjudicated.
Diggs is in his first year with the Patriots, having signed a three-year, $63.5MM deal that came with $16.6MM guaranteed at signing. While only $1.7MM of Diggs’ 2026 compensation came guaranteed at signing, an additional $6MM becomes guaranteed in March, according to Spotrac. Any suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy would stand to void future guarantees on this contract.
Previously tied to the Vikings, Bills and Texans, Diggs has never been suspended during his career. An odd headline did surface during Diggs’ first New England offseason, however. A video showed him flashing an “unidentified pink substance” while partying on a boat with a number of women. No NFL discipline came his way in connection with the video. Diggs welcomed a child with rapper Cardi B in November.
Playing a key role in Drake Maye‘s second-year surge, Diggs has recovered from the ACL tear he sustained midway through his lone Houston season. He leads the Patriots with 82 receptions for 970 yards, adding four touchdowns. The four-time Pro Bowler is close to surpassing 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh time in his career.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Wan’Dale Robinson
The Giants have spent much of the 2025 season without Malik Nabers. That has dealt a blow to the team’s offense but it has also helped allow for fellow receiver Wan’Dale Robinson to enjoy a career year. 
Robinson received a whopping 140 targets in 2024, a season in which he was used heavily as a slot receiver. The former second-rounder only averaged 7.5 yards per catch as a result, but he has handled a more varied workload this season. Seeing more time on the perimeter, Robinson has remained a focal point on offense in 2025 but he has seen a notable uptick in efficiency along the way.
Thanks to a strong performance on Sunday, Robinson has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. The Kentucky product’s target total is identical to his 2024 figure and the same is essentially true of his 92 catches, but his yards per reception mark has increased to 11.0, comfortably a new personal best. As a pending free agent, the timing of this step up in production could lead to a lucrative payday.
When speaking to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, one NFL scout pegged Robinson’s market at $15MM-$16MM per season. A team executive agreed with that assessment, pointing to Christian Kirk‘s contract as the ceiling in this case. In 2022, eyebrows were raised when Kirk signed a four-year, $72MM pact during his first trip to free agency. Surges in the salary cap and the receiver market since then have changed the financial landscape at the position, though.
Robinson’s case is somewhat unique based on his size (5-8, 185 pounds). As Dunleavy notes, there are 27 receivers currently attached to an AAV of $16MM or more. That group only includes three under six feet in height, though (Kirk along with the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle). That factor could limit Robinson’s market to an extent, although a considerable raise can nevertheless be expected on his second NFL contract.
Robinson is set to turn 25 next week, so his next pact will cover the prime of his career. Whether it will come from the Giants or an outside suitor will be interesting to see. New York already has Darius Slayton on the books through 2027, and his pact includes considerable guarantees for next year. A monster Nabers extension can be signed as early as the 2026 offseason and it will of course need to be budgeted for. New York is currently projected to have roughly $17.5MM in cap space this spring, although that figure will change once cost-cutting season begins.
The group of pending free agent receivers is headlined by George Pickens, who looms as a Cowboys franchise tag candidate. Alec Pierce (Colts), Romeo Doubs (Packers), Rashid Shaheed (Seahawks) and Jalen Nailor (Vikings) are also in line to receive their second contract in the near future. Older wideouts could parlay their longer track record of production into a notable deal as well, but Robinson’s consistency over the past two years and his expanded role in 2025 should make him one of the top options at the position.
Last month, Robinson stated his desire to remain with the Giants. If that feeling is mutual and a deal is worked out, he will be in line to operate as a key figure in New York’s young offensive core for years to come. Otherwise, his market will be one worth monitoring closely.
Colts Expected To Start QB Riley Leonard In Week 18
When speaking after Sunday’s game, Philip Rivers reflected on his three-game return to NFL action. Since that point, signs have pointed to the Colts going in a different direction under center for Week 18. 
It continues to appear as though Rivers will not play in the season finale. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Stephen Holder report Riley Leonard is instead expected to get the nod this week. The sixth-round rookie has made four appearances so far this season. With the Colts out of playoff contention, he will now turn his attention to preparing for his first regular season start.
Daniel Jones‘ impressive debut Indianapolis campaign ended with an Achilles tear. With Anthony Richardson on injured reserve, head coach Shane Steichen reached out to Rivers and a deal allowing him to unretire was quickly worked out. At the age of 44, Rivers made three starts and totaled 544 passing yards and four touchdowns while throwing three interceptions. The Colts’ losing streak has extended to six games and the team now sits at 8-8 as a result, a dramatic turn of events for what was once a contender for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Richardson’s practice window is open, although as he continues to recover from an orbital bone fracture it is unclear if he will be activated from IR. The former No. 4 pick’s future is murky, as his time on the field for Indianapolis has left plenty to be desired. That, coupled with his injuries limits the value Richardson would generate in any potential trade. Leonard, meanwhile, profiles as a depth option for the foreseeable future as his rookie contract runs through 2028.
Yesterday, the Colts signed quarterback Seth Henigan to the practice squad. That move pointed further in the direction of Rivers sitting out Week 18 against the Texans and their vaunted defense. The QB1 role is set to go to Leonard instead, with Henigan representing an option to dress as a backup in the event Richardson is not activated.
Poll: Will Raiders Fire Pete Carroll?
Pete Carroll became the oldest head coach in NFL history when the Raiders hired him last January. With a resume that includes a Super Bowl championship and a national title, expectations were that the Raiders would give the 74-year-old a long leash. However, now a week away from finishing a disastrous season under Carroll, the Raiders may go in another direction in 2026.
In a game featuring 2-13 teams and top contenders for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, the Raiders took a 34-10 beating at the hands of the Giants on Sunday. The outcome may be good for the Raiders’ future – they’re now in pole position to draft first – but it continued a brutal run for the Carroll-led club. Las Vegas has now dropped 10 in a row. The Raiders haven’t been competitive during several games in that stretch. They’ve lost three by 24-plus points and two via shutout.
With the Raiders showing little life on the field, Carroll has reportedly been on the hot seat for weeks. Moves to shake up his first (and perhaps only) Raiders coaching staff haven’t gotten the team out of the basement. Carroll parted with special teams coach Tom McMahon and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at different points in November, but the losing hasn’t stopped.
Even though Kelly was the league’s highest-paid OC, and although part-owner Tom Brady was instrumental in hiring him, the Raiders cut the cord on the experienced play caller. The philosophies of Carroll and Kelly clashed during their 11-game run together.
The Raiders’ offense averaged a horrid 15 points per game with Kelly at the controls, but replacing him with Greg Olson hasn’t worked. The number has fallen to 14.2 since Kelly’s ouster. Not surprisingly, the Raiders are last in the league in scoring.
Hoping to improve Carroll’s chances of immediate success, the Raiders reunited him with quarterback Geno Smith. They traded a 2025 third-rounder to Seattle for Smith and immediately handed him a two-year, $75MM extension. While Smith performed well as Carroll’s starter in Seattle from 2022-23, that hasn’t been the case in a new city. Smith has been among the league’s least effective QBs this year, which is among the reasons Carroll may be at risk of a one-and-done tenure in Las Vegas.
While this has easily been the worst season of Carroll’s 19 as an NFL head coach, he still believes Raiders ownership (Mark Davis and Brady) is in his corner. Brady’s presence helped steer Carroll to Las Vegas, but the results have been so poor that the two sides may be on their way to a divorce a year later. It wouldn’t be the first short-lived Vegas marriage.
Do you expect the Raiders to dismiss Carroll? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and have your say in the comments section.
Jets Expected To Keep HC Aaron Glenn, GM Darren Mougey
There have been a few conflicting reports on Jets head coach Aaron Glenn‘s job security in the past two weeks. A couple of recent updates suggested Glenn’s on shaky ground. Conversely, another indicated he’ll return for a second season in 2026. That will indeed be the case, according to Albert Breer of SI.com. First-year general manager Darren Mougey is also safe, Breer adds.
Jets owner Woody Johnson installed the Mougey-Glenn power structure just under a year ago, hiring the coach before the GM in late January. Moving on from either or both after one season, albeit a dismal campaign in which the team has gone 3-13, would be a questionable look for the organization. That’s especially true with the Jets in the early stages of a full-scale rebuild.
New York took a shot at contending in 2024 with a healthy Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. The club instead sputtered to a 5-12 mark, leading to a regime change and the end of the disappointing Rodgers era. Rodgers and his friend, veteran wide receiver Davante Adams, were among those given their walking papers last offseason.
With Rodgers gone, the Jets took a two-year, $40MM gamble (with $30MM guaranteed) in free agency on former Bears and Steelers signal-caller Justin Fields. That will go down as a miss for Mougey, previously Denver’s assistant GM, and Glenn. The 26-year-old Fields, whom Glenn benched in November, is a surefire release candidate heading into the offseason.
Fields’ inability to nail down the job will put the Jets in the market for a quarterback yet again. Armed with two first-round picks, including the current third overall choice, the Jets could nab one of the draft’s top-ranked passers. That’s assuming they’re high enough on the prospects available.
Mougey acquired the second of his 2026 first-rounders (plus a 2027 first and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell) in a blockbuster trade with the Colts at the Nov. 4 deadline. Despite signing No. 1 cornerback Sauce Gardner to a four-year, $120.4MM extension in July, Mougey shipped him to Indianapolis just under four months later.
Standout defensive tackle Quinnen Williams joined Gardner in exiting at the deadline. Mougey sent him to the Cowboys for a 2026 second-rounder, a 2027 first and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
The Gardner and Williams deals may pay sizable dividends in the future. For now, the Jets are unquestionably in worse shape. Their defense has allowed between 29 and 48 points in four straight games (all losses). Glenn fired his first D-coordinator, Steve Wilks, on Dec. 15, though the unit hasn’t fared any better in two games under interim DC Chris Harris.
The Jets’ defensive woes don’t reflect well on Glenn, a former NFL cornerback (including with the Jets) who was Detroit’s D-coordinator before New York hired him. Identifying Wilks’ successor will rank among his most important offseason tasks. It’s possible Glenn will make other changes to his staff, Breer relays, though it’s unclear which assistants he could replace.
Although Glenn’s first go-around as a head coach has been a bumpy ride, it appears likely he’ll return for the second season of a five-year contract. Between the Jets’ haul of draft picks and a massive amount of spending room (approximately $91MM, per Over the Cap), he and Mougey will be in prime position to upgrade a hole-filled roster in the offseason.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Breece Hall
With 111 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, the Jets’ Breece Hall was among the NFL’s most productive running backs in Week 17. He was a rare bright spot for the Jets in a 42-10 blowout loss to the Patriots. As a pending free agent, it’s possible a Week 18 matchup in Buffalo will be the last time Hall dons a Jets uniform.
Hall joined the Jets as a second-round pick from Iowa State in 2022. The 5-foot-11, 217-pounder totaled single-digit carries in each of his first three games as a rookie, but the Jets leaned on him more after that.
Hall posted his first career 100-yard rushing game in Week 6. He followed that up with a 62-yard touchdown during a four-carry, 72-yard showing the next week, but he suffered a season-ending ACL tear that day in a win over the Broncos. Hall’s rookie campaign ended with 463 yards on 80 carries – good for a robust 5.8 YPC – and five TDs (four rushing, one receiving) in seven games.
While Hall hasn’t approached the YPC mark he logged in his first season, there haven’t been any durability concerns since then. Hall missed a game in 2024, but he played in all 17 the previous year and is on track for perfect attendance again.
Although his injury sapped him of some explosiveness, Hall still averaged 216 carries, 935 yards and five scores as a rusher from 2023-24. He complemented his output on the ground with prolific pass-catching numbers during that two-year stretch, as he averaged 67 receptions, 537 yards and roughly four TDs per season.
With 36 catches, 350 yards and TD, Hall’s impact as a receiver has dropped this year as part of the league’s worst-ranked passing offense. However, as a runner, he has already set career highs in carries (243) and yards (1,065) heading into the season finale. The 24-year-old is also one rushing TD away from tying a personal-best five.
Regardless of how he performs Sunday, Hall will finish the season as the Jets’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Chris Ivory hit the mark in 2015. It’s especially impressive considering the lack of help around him. The Jets have tried three different quarterbacks – Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook – but haven’t found anything resembling an answer at the position. They’ll also go a 10th game without No. 1 wide receiver Garrett Wilson on Sunday. Wilson’s knee issues have left Hall as the Jets’ only significant weapon for most of 2025.
Other teams have taken notice of Hall’s success this season, which bodes well as he gears up for a potential trip to the open market. He was popular in trade rumors leading up to the Nov. 4 deadline. The Chiefs, among the teams with interest, reportedly offered a fourth-round pick for Hall. That wasn’t good enough for the Jets, who decided to ride out 2025 with their No. 1 back.
First-year head coach Aaron Glenn wasn’t with New York when the team drafted Hall, but he has made his affinity for the running back known. Glenn and rookie general manager Darren Mougey, both expected to return in 2026, will likely make some attempt to retain Hall. If the two sides can’t come together on a multiyear agreement by early March, the Jets will have the option of keeping Hall from reaching the market unfettered with the franchise tag. They’d have three choices in that case: 1. Keep him for another year at around $14MM; 2. Trade him; 3. Hammer out an extension by the July 15 deadline.
In the event he becomes a free agent and shops himself around the league, Hall’s next deal could check in around $12MM per year, Rich Cimini of ESPN writes. That would match the average annual value the Packers’ Josh Jacobs landed on the four-year, $48MM contract he inked as a free agent in 2024. Jacobs now ranks sixth among RBs in AAV, and he continues to lead the position in total contract value, but the pact only came with $12.5MM in guarantees.
While Jacobs had a better track record then than Hall does now, the salary cap continues to rise. That should boost Hall’s chances of approaching Jacobs’ payday or at least matching or exceeding $10MM per annum. Nine backs are currently raking in eight figures per year. Hall and other soon-to-be free agents in the Jaguars’ Travis Etienne and the Seahawks’ Kenneth Walker may have an opportunity to join the club in the offseason. All have enjoyed strong careers, but it works in Hall’s favor that he’s the youngest of the three.