Jets’ Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann To Compete For Starting C Job

Josh Myers cracked our list of 2025’s Top 50 Free Agents (he checked in at No. 41), and his run as the Packers’ starting center seemingly positioned him well for a notable contract this offseason. However, it seems the league-wide perception of Myers mirrors the subpar Pro Football Focus grades he has earned over his four-year pro career, and he ultimately settled for a one-year, $2MM deal with the Jets.

Meanwhile, New York’s incumbent center, Joe Tippmann, graded out as PFF’s seventh-best pivot in 2024, which was just his second year in the league. The Jets made him a second-round pick the year prior, and given his draft pedigree and strong sophomore showing, it initially appeared Myers would have to accept a backup role with his new club.

While that still may be the case, it is apparently not a sure thing. The Jets have a new regime in place, a regime that signed Myers but did not draft Tippmann, and as ESPN’s Rich Cimini relays, first-year GM Darren Mougey said in March that Myers is “going to compete to push Tippmann.”

That competition is indeed taking place, with presumptive left guard John Simpson saying Myers and Tippmann are “battling their asses off right now.” Gang Green wrapped its first set of OTAs last week and is set to begin its next series on Wednesday.

Of course, this could be a simple matter of a rookie GM and head coach (Aaron Glenn) attempting to rebuild the Jets’ culture and making sure all of their players truly earn their jobs. On the other hand, as Cimini notes, Myers’ 56 career starts are the most among any player on New York’s O-line at the moment, and with a 2024 first-rounder (Olu Fashanu, who started seven games in his rookie year) and a 2025 rookie (Armand Membou) poised to start at the tackle positions, there is some logic to having a more experienced center.

In theory, Tippmann – who played some right guard in his rookie campaign in 2023 – could shift to one of the guard positions to make room for Myers. However, 2021 first-rounder and extension candidate Alijah Vera-Tucker appears entrenched at right guard for the long haul, leaving Simpson’s LG post as the only other interior position that could be up for grabs. 

But Simpson turned in a strong debut effort for the Jets in 2024, starting all 17 contests and earning a 77.3 overall PFF grade that placed him 16th among guards. That was something of a surprising showing given his more pedestrian performances with the Raiders and Ravens in prior years, so one wonders if the Tippmann-Myers battle could ultimately have an impact on Simpson’s status.

That is merely speculation, as Cimini’s report only suggests Tippmann and Myers are fighting for the starting center spot. The ESPN scribe certainly believes there is more than just GM- or coach-speak at play here, as he characterizes the positional competition as one to watch.