Jets More Open To Moving Jermaine Johnson Than Will McDonald; Teams Monitoring Quincy Williams
At 0-7, the Jets are an obvious seller ahead of the November 4 trade deadline. A host of Joe Douglas-era acquisitions have come up as potential pieces to be moved, but the team is sitting tight for the time being.
Breece Hall, Jermaine Johnson, Michael Carter II, Allen Lazard and even the injured Alijah Vera-Tucker have come up as trade chips. We can add Will McDonald and Quincy Williams, according to veteran insider Jordan Schultz, who notes the third-year defensive end and seventh-year linebacker are among those buyers are keeping an eye on presently.
Determining which players are in good standing with Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey will be part of this Jets process ahead of the deadline, and McDonald may well be one of the untouchables for the team. The Jets have the 2023 first-rounder signed through 2026, and they can exercise his fifth-year option to move the rookie contract through 2027. That would lead the Jets to set a high price, which the team has been doing with other assets as well.
The Jets look to be more willing to part with Johnson than McDonald, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. New York picking up Johnson’s fifth-year option moved his contract year to 2026, but unlike fellow 2022 first-round picks Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, the team did not extend the fourth-year defensive end. That leaves Johnson on uncertain terrain alongside Carter, whom Fowler adds is drawing interest despite not living up to his eight-figure-per-year contract.
Johnson’s 2026 option salary ($13.41MM) is fully guaranteed, providing a complication for teams. Having suffered an Achilles tear in September 2024 also dings Johnson’s stock. While he has recovered, three game absences have taken place as well. That stands to lower Johnson’s price tag — during a season in which he has started with one sack and just two QB hits — and it will be interesting to see if the Jets seriously consider selling low. Keeping Johnson through 2026 and hoping he boosts his value ahead of a future trade may be the smarter play, though Fowler adds he has drawn some trade interest.
Viewed as a Broderick Jones consolation prize in the ’23 first round, McDonald did not play much as a rookie. But he broke through in 2024, registering 10.5 sacks and 24 QB hits. This season, McDonald has just two QB drops — both came in Week 1.
The Iowa State alum would still stand to generate extensive interest, as a low-cost 2026 salary is in place ahead of a potential option season. The Jets, who let Bryce Huff walk in free agency last year before trading John Franklin-Myers, do not have much of note behind these two rushers. While moving Douglas-years pieces is likely, scanning elsewhere on their roster may be necessary to find a move.
Williams remains in the strange position of seeing a less accomplished player (Jamien Sherwood) lap him on the contract front. The Jets re-signed the special-teamer-turned-starter to a three-year, $45MM deal, doing so while not extending Williams, who is in the final season of a three-year, $18MM pact. Although Gang Green added incentives to Williams’ deal, he was deemed a higher priority by the Douglas-Robert Saleh regime than this one. Williams is also on IR with a shoulder injury, clouding his trade value.
A former first-team All-Pro, Williams is attached to a $6.5MM base salary. An acquiring team would need to pick up more than $3MM if the Jets dangle Williams closer to the deadline. Carter has come up as a trade piece as well, as the slot cornerback is not viewed as a long-term part of this equation any longer.
Extended on a three-year, $30.75MM pact in September 2024, Carter has battled injuries and shaky play since. The Jets also traded for Jarvis Brownlee this season and have given him some slot work. Carter, who is on just a $1.7MM base salary for 2025, has drawn some interest, per Fowler. Two former Jets defensive leaders — Saleh (49ers) and Jeff Ulbrich — have landed DC jobs elsewhere, making for potential fits.
An additional $4.1MM of Carter’s 2026 money becomes guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, giving an acquiring team some flexibility. Considering the Jets have paid Gardner and authorized a $12MM-per-year Brandon Stephens deal, it would stand to reason they would be eager to get off the Carter contract before the deadline.
Jets Receiving Calls On DE Jermaine Johnson, RB Breece Hall; Team Willing To Trade WR Allen Lazard?
Two weeks remain until the trade deadline. The NFL’s lone winless team could operate as a seller, and there is certainly interest from potential suitors. 
The Jets have received trade calls on a number of players recently. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports (subscription required) defensive end Jermaine Johnson and running back Breece Hall are on the radar of suitors. That comes as little surprise in the latter’s case in particular. Hall has been seen as a trade candidate since before the 2025 campaign began.
While the 24-year-old wants to remain with the Jets and head coach Aaron Glenn has attempted to shoot down trade speculation multiple times, Hall will no doubt remain a target to watch on this front. No extension is forthcoming in his case, and as a pending free agent Hall could land with a contender for at least the second half of the campaign. A number of teams have been connected to running back interest in the trade market, so a bidding war of sorts could take place in this instance.
Johnson saw fellow 2022 first-rounders Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson sign monster extensions this offseason. No long-term pact is expected in his case, though, based in large part on the 26-year-old’s 2024 Achilles tear. Johnson’s fifth-year option was nevertheless picked up in the spring, meaning he is attached to a base salary of $13.41MM for next season. Any acquiring team would need to take that into account even though the Florida State product would be an inexpensive target for the closing stages of the 2025 campaign.
Confirming Hall and Johnson are receiving notable interest, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports the Jets are indeed a team to watch closely over the coming days. One source informed him, however, that New York has been “stubborn” in terms of the asking price on coveted players to date. There is of course plenty of time for that to change, and movement elsewhere on the trade front could lead to an increase in efforts to swing a deal with the Jets before the deadline.
One player who could be on the move relatively soon, by contrast, is Allen Lazard. Per Jones, New York “wouldn’t mind” moving on from the veteran. Lazard – who was seen as a trade or release candidate this offseason before accepting a pay cut to stay in place – has made just six catches in five games. A large return via trade should not be expected as a result, but the Steelers are known to still be on the lookout for a wideout addition. Dealing Lazard to Pittsburgh would allow him to (once again) reunite with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
2025 marks the first season of the Jets’ new regime. Glenn and rookie general manager Darren Mougey will have a number of key decisions to make over the next two weeks, and their actions over that span will be worth monitoring.
Jets QB Justin Fields To Play In Week 4
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn announced the quarterback Justin Fields had cleared concussion protocol and would return to the field in Week 4.
“Justin is playing,” said Glenn (via SNY’s Connor Hughes).
Fields sustained the concussion after a poor start against the Bills in Week 2. He was sidelined for a week of practice and the Jets’ next game, but returned as a full participant this week. After starting last Sunday, veteran Tyrod Taylor will return to his backup role.
New York still scored 27 points against the Buccaneers without Fields, but the offense should have more upside with him in the lineup. He will get an exploitable matchup right away against a Dolphins defense that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for a league-high 128.9 passer rating this year. The unit is also one of three in the NFL that has not forced a turnover so far this year.
Fields’ debut as a Jet was one of the best games of his career, and the team will be hoping he can quickly return to that level. He showed off a rapport with former Ohio State teammate Garrett Wilson on an early touchdown connection before scoring twice on the ground himself in the second half. He also limited negative plays, taking just one sack and avoiding any turnovers.
A repeat performance in Miami could go a long way to steady a Jets team that has started the season 0-3. Their defense, however, will be without edge rusher Jermaine Johnson for a second week in a row due to an ankle injury, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. He returned from last year’s Achilles tear in time for the season opener, but didn’t have much of an impact before going down in Week 2. Rookie Tyler Baron saw his playing time increase in Week 3 and will likely have a similar role on Sunday.
Jets Activate Jermaine Johnson From PUP List
Jets edge rusher Jermaine Johnson has taken another step in his return to the field after missing most of last season with a torn Achilles.
Johnson passed his physical and was activated from the active/physically unable to perform list on Sunday, per senior team reporter Eric Allen. For the first time since he was knocked out of the Jets’ Week 2 matchup against the Titans 11 months ago, Johnson will be available to join his teammates at practice on Monday.
However, the 2022 first-rounder will likely ramp up his participation as the regular season approaches. He has a little under a month to get back to game-ready condition, though the Jets have no intention of rushing him back.
“We want to make sure we have him for the long haul,” said Jets head coach Aaron Glenn (via Allen).
Before going down last year, Johnson was expected to take another leap after his Pro Bowl campaign in 2023. He recorded 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss while also knocking down seven passes and returning an interception for a touchdown. Micheal Clemons started in Johnson’s place in 2024 but only registered 4.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.
The Jets will be hoping that Johnson can quickly return to his 2023 form and pair with Will McDonald to form a dangerous edge-rushing duo after the latter’s breakout with 10.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Jets Unlikely To Extend Breece Hall, Jermaine Johnson In 2025; Latest On Alijah Vera-Tucker
Even as a new regime took over, the Jets completed lucrative extensions for Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner this month. Gardner’s came at a market-setting rate. The team is committed to the duo as pillars for the Aaron Glenn-Darren Mougey foundation.
The Jets’ 5-12 2024 season notwithstanding, the team has a few more extension candidates. As it stands, though, that lot is more likely to wait until 2026 for deals to commence — if they ultimately do. Breece Hall said (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) he is not expecting an extension this year; this aligns with earlier reporting on the subject. Some of Hall’s teammates may also be waiting a while.
The team is unlikely to go through with more extension this year, per Cimini. This would leave Alijah Vera-Tucker and Quincy Williams uncontracted in 2026, while Jermaine Johnson‘s fifth-year option covers next season. Johnson is coming off a major injury, and Vera-Tucker missed much of the 2022 and ’23 seasons before returning last year. The Joe Douglas-Robert Saleh regime was readier to redo Williams’ deal compared to the Mougey-Glenn pairing.
“We’ll see. I mean, what did we shell out, 200-something million dollars? [We] have to take it easy a little bit, but I hope so,” Glenn said (via Cimini) when asked about more extensions coming. “With the guys that we have here, I hope we’ll be able to do that.”
This would set up a situation in which the Jets have franchise tag candidates, but two of the players poised to play out contracts are at positions where tags are rare. The CBA grouping all offensive linemen together would make Vera-Tucker an unlikely tag recipient; ditto Williams, as all linebackers — including 3-4 edge rushers — are tied to the same tag price. This would leave Hall the likeliest player to be cuffed in 2026, but the former second-round pick has yet to show the form that made him an eye-catching rookie. The Jets have Braelon Allen in place as a key Hall sidekick; Allen’s rookie contract runs through 2027.
Hall suffered an ACL tear midway through his rookie season, while Johnson went down with an Achilles tear last September. Vera-Tucker’s in-season shifts to right tackle brought season-ending triceps and Achilles tears. Glenn did say he hopes the Jets and Vera-Tucker can talk about a second contract at some point; Vera-Tucker would embrace an extension, per Cimini. Williams is the only member of this quartet without a major injury on his NFL medical sheet.
The Jets not paying Williams sets up a strange backdrop at linebacker. The team gave three-year-backup-turned-contract-year standout Jamien Sherwood a three-year, $45MM deal just before free agency. As a less proven player is tied to a $15MM-per-year contract, Williams — a first-team All-Pro in 2023 — is at just $6MM per. Williams is also set to play an age-29 season, potentially complicating a pursuit for a lucrative third contract in free agency.
While the Jets’ effort to improve — after the Aaron Rodgers period produced nothing of consequence — will draw the most attention, PFR’s pages will be monitoring Johnson and their batch of contract-year starters. The Glenn-Mougey duo will have big decisions to make by March, and it will be interesting to see how these respective contract years influence the team’s long-term thinking.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/19/25
Saturday’s minor moves around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DT Kyon Barrs
Chicago Bears
- Placed on active/NFI list: CB Jaylon Johnson, QB Case Keenum, WR Jahdae Walker, RB Ian Wheeler
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on active/PUP list: TE Erick All
- Placed on active/NFI list: C Seth McLaughlin
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on active/PUP list: LB Dennis Gardeck
New England Patriots
- Placed on active/PUP list: WR Mack Hollins, TE Austin Hooper, OT Vederian Lowe, LB Jahlani Tavai
- Placed on active/NFI list: CB Carlton Davis, S Josh Minkins, WR Jeremiah Webb
New York Jets
- Placed on active/PUP list: DE Jermaine Johnson, WR Irvin Charles
- Placed on active/NFI list: LB Aaron Smith
Washington Commanders
- Placed on active/NFI list: T Timothy McKay
The Cardinals were one of the two teams Barrs visited yesterday. His free agent workout clearly went well, and he will look to carve out a roster spot during training camp. Barrs, a former UDFA, has yet to make a regular season appearance.
Every player on a PUP or NFI list can be activated at any time, but their designations mean they are not cleared to practice at the start of their respective training camps. Notably, the Patriots’ list of PUP players does not include Stefon Diggs. The free agent addition was a candidate to begin camp on the PUP list, but New England’s decision to keep him on the active roster is an encouraging sign regarding his ACL recovery.
The Jets are taking a cautious approach with Jermaine Johnson, as the former first-rounder confirmed on X. An Achilles tear limited him to two games last year, but the Pro Bowler said on Saturday he is ready for on-field work. Activation well in advance of Week 1 should be expected in his case.
Jets’ Jermaine Johnson Expected To Be Ready For Week 1
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is anticipating a Week 1 return from edge rusher Jermaine Johnson after he missed most of the 2024 season due to a ruptured Achilles, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Johnson did not participate in spring practices and will likely be placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp in July. He will have plenty of time to ramp up before rejoining the Jets’ new-look defense under Glenn.
The 2022 first-round pick injured his Achilles in Week 2 last year, interrupting his ascension after a 7.5-sack performance in 2023. Johnson underwent surgery from the same doctor that repaired then-teammate Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear in 2023, per Cimini, and spent the rest of year on the sidelines. The pass rusher even acknowledged that the former Jets QB helped him “so much” as he navigated his introduction to rehab.
“The first thing he said was, ‘You’ll be good, you’ve got a 10-year-plus career. You’re all right, chalk it up,'” Johnson said (via Cimini). “It just kind of let me calm down a little bit and be able to gather myself, take it on the chin and handle it, and do a good job at it. So that’s how I’ve attacked it, and Aaron’s been a huge help.”
The Jets got little production from their other edge rushers during Johnson’s absence last year outside of 2023 first-rounder Will McDonald. McDonald took over a starting role after Johnson’s injury and broke out with a team-high 10.5 sacks after recording just three as a rookie.
While Johnson is sidelined during practice, the Jets can get an extended look at their depth options. The team used a fifth-round pick on Tyler Baron, and the Miami product could be penciled in as the first edge rusher off the bench. The team is also rostering the likes of Michael Clemons, Eric Watts, and Braiden McGregor.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Jets’ Byron Cowart, Jay Tufele Competing For Starting DT Job
When the Jets signed Derrick Nnadi this offseason, it appeared as if he, along with fellow additions Byron Cowart and Jay Tufele, would serve as depth options along the defensive line. However, New York did not select an interior DL in the draft, leaving those three veterans – all of whom signed modest one-year deals – as the leading candidates to replace Javon Kinlaw as the starting defensive tackle alongside three-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams.
Per Brian Costello of the New York Post, Cowart and Tufele appear to be the frontrunners to fill the void left by Kinlaw’s departure. In Costello’s estimation, the defensive line got weaker this offseason, and it is probably safe to assume that neither player, nor Nnadi, will replicate Kinlaw’s performance (which he parlayed into a three-year, $45MM deal with the Commanders in free agency).
Cowart, 29, entered the league as a fifth-round choice of the Patriots in 2019 and started a career-high 14 contests in 2020. He was not particularly effective against either the run or pass, and he spent the entirety of the following campaign on the PUP list. The Colts claimed him off waivers in July 2022, and though he appeared in all 17 games that year in a rotational role, his performance was generally underwhelming.
As such, Indianapolis elected not to re-sign him. He hooked on with the Chiefs in March 2023 but was released shortly thereafter, and he subsequently agreed to a one-year pact with the Texans. He did not crack Houston’s 53-man roster at the end of the summer, so he joined the Dolphins on a taxi squad deal. While the Maryland product did not log any regular season work in 2023, he finally made his way back to a starting lineup last year, when he appeared in 15 games (seven starts) for the Bears.
His 335 Chicago snaps yielded a career-best 2.5 sacks, but he received mediocre grades across the board from Pro Football Focus. The advanced metrics site assigned him an overall grade of 58.9, which made him the 56th-best interior defender out of 118 qualified players.
Still, PFF thought more highly of Cowart’s 2024 offering than that of Tufele, who earned a poor 44.4 overall grade that would have placed him near the bottom of the league’s interior D-linemen if he had enough snaps to qualify. Tufele, a former fourth-round pick of the Jaguars, did appear in 13 games for the Bengals last season and started three of them, both of which represented career-high marks (it should be noted, though, that Cincinnati’s defense was one of the worst in the league in 2024). Tufele’s work yielded 15 total tackles and a half-sack.
Getting Williams to return to form after something of a down season will be near the top of the agenda for new head coach Aaron Glenn and new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. If the duo can coax solid play out of whatever combination of linemen who serve as Williams’ running mates, that will go a long way towards helping the defense as a whole live up to its considerable potential.
As Costello observes, another potential trouble spot is the Jets’ depth along the edges of its defense. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson, whose 2024 season was cut short due to an Achilles tendon tear, has still not been cleared to practice, and fellow DEs Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons have already missed OTA time. Given New York’s minimal investments in the defensive front in free agency and the draft, it is fair to wonder if the club has left itself a bit thin in the pass rush department.
AFC East Notes: Jets, QBs, McDonald, Pats
With Aaron Rodgers out of New York, the new quarterback on the block is Justin Fields. Fields will be backed up by veteran Tyrod Taylor, who hasn’t held a full-time starting role since his time in Buffalo in 2017. Past that, though, the Jets have two inexperienced options to compete for that QB3 role.
Adrian Martinez and undrafted rookie Brady Cook will be the two competing for that job. Martinez spent time at Nebraska and Kansas State before going undrafted in 2023. He spent an offseason as a rookie with the Lions but failed to stick around for the regular season. He did play in the United Football League in 2024 for the Birmingham Stallions, leading the team to a championship victory while earning the league’s MVP award and leading the league in rushing yards.
Cook was a three-year starter at Missouri, compiling a 20-5 record in his last two seasons with the Tigers. He’s efficient at limiting turnovers and displayed some decent mobility as a rusher in college.
What’s interesting is that, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, neither player is likely to make the 53-man roster to start the season. Costello predicts that the team will only hold two quarterbacks (Fields and Taylor) on the roster, and the winner of the Martinez-Cook battle will likely be assigned to the practice squad.
Here are a couple of other rumors coming out of the AFC East:
- Staying in the realm of quarterbacks, after trading away Joe Milton to Dallas, the Patriots were in need of a QB3 of their own to work behind Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs. Enter undrafted rookie Ben Wooldridge. Wooldridge will be an older rookie at 25 years old after spending three years at Fresno State and four at Louisiana. One reason for the extra years was injury; he suffered a Lisfranc injury one season and dealt with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder last year. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the toughness and determination that kept him going through those injuries to earn the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year is exactly what landed him an NFL opportunity and could keep him in the league for years to come.
- The Jets liked what they saw out of defensive end Will McDonald in his sophomore campaign as he notched 10.5 sacks. They will hope to see him improve another part of his game in 2025 after he reportedly gained 15 pounds in order to help him set the edge, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. Jermaine Johnson is coming off an Achilles tendon tear and was seen at Organized Team Activities this week working with trainers off to the side, according to the staff at NFL.com. With a training camp return for Johnson still up in the air, New York may need to lean on McDonald early in the upcoming season.
2026 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker
NFL teams have until May 1 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2022 first-rounders. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of performance- and usage-based benchmarks:
- Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternates) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag
- One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag
- Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th-highest salaries at their position:
- At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
- A 75% snap average across all three seasons
- At least 50% in each of first three seasons
- Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position
We covered how last year’s Pro Bowl invites affected the 2022 first-round class. With the deadline looming, we will use the space below to track all the 2026 option decisions from around the league:
- DE/OLB Travon Walker, Jaguars ($14.75MM): Exercised
- DE/OLB Aidan Hutchinson, Lions ($19.87MM): Exercised
- CB Derek Stingley Jr., Texans ($17.6MM): Extended through 2029
- CB Sauce Gardner, Jets ($20.19MM): Exercised
- OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants ($14.75MM): Exercised
- T Ikem Ekwonu, Panthers ($17.56MM): Exercised
- T Evan Neal, Giants ($16.69MM): Declined
- WR Drake London, Falcons ($16.82MM): Exercised
- T Charles Cross, Seahawks ($17.56MM): Exercised
- WR Garrett Wilson, Jets ($16.82MM): Exercised
- WR Chris Olave, Saints ($15.49MM): Exercised
- WR Jameson Williams, Lions ($15.49MM): Exercised
- DT Jordan Davis, Eagles ($12.94MM): Exercised
- S Kyle Hamilton, Ravens ($18.6MM): Exercised
- G Kenyon Green, Eagles* ($16.69MM): Declined
- WR Jahan Dotson, Eagles** ($16.82MM): Declined
- G Zion Johnson, Chargers ($17.56MM): Declined
- WR Treylon Burks, Titans ($15.49MM): Declined
- T Trevor Penning, Saints ($16.69MM): Declined
- QB Kenny Pickett, Browns*** ($22.12MM): Declined
- CB Trent McDuffie, Chiefs ($13.63MM): Exercised
- LB Quay Walker, Packers ($14.75MM): Declined
- CB Kaiir Elam, Cowboys**** ($12.68MM): Declined
- G Tyler Smith, Cowboys ($20.99MM): Exercised
- C Tyler Linderbaum, Ravens ($20.99MM): Declined
- DE Jermaine Johnson, Jets ($13.92MM): Exercised
- LB Devin Lloyd, Jaguars ($14.75MM): Exercised
- DT Devonte Wyatt, Packers ($12.94MM): Exercised
- G Cole Strange, Patriots ($16.69MM): Declined
- DE George Karlaftis, Chiefs ($15.12MM): Exercised
- DB Dax Hill, Bengals ($12.68MM): Exercised
- S Lewis Cine, Vikings: N/A
* = traded from Texans on March 11, 2025
** = traded from Commanders on August 22, 2024
*** = traded from Eagles on March 15, 2024; traded from Steelers on March 10, 2025
**** = traded from Bills to Cowboys on March 12, 2025