2027 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker
NFL teams have until May 1 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2023 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 top 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
PFR’s Offseason Outlook series examined each of these decisions in-depth, and weeks remain until this year’s deadline. In the meantime, we will use the space below to track all the 2027 option decisions from around the league:
- QB Bryce Young, Panthers ($25.9MM): To be exercised
- QB C.J. Stroud, Texans ($25.9MM): Exercised
- DE Will Anderson Jr., Texans ($21.51MM): Exercised
- QB Anthony Richardson, Colts ($22.48MM)
- CB Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks ($21.16MM): Exercised
- LT Paris Johnson Jr., Cardinals ($19.07MM): Exercised
- DE Tyree Wilson, Raiders ($14.48MM): Declined
- RB Bijan Robinson, Falcons ($11.32MM): Exercised
- DT Jalen Carter, Eagles ($27.13MM): Exercised
- RT Darnell Wright, Bears ($19.07MM): Exercised
- G Peter Skoronski, Titans ($19.07MM): To be exercised
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions ($14.29MM)
- DE Lukas Van Ness, Packers ($13.75MM)
- LT Broderick Jones, Steelers ($19.07MM): To be declined
- DE Will McDonald, Jets ($13.75MM): To be exercised
- CB Emmanuel Forbes, Rams ($12.63MM)
- CB Christian Gonzalez, Patriots ($18.12MM): Exercised
- LB Jack Campbell, Lions ($21.93MM)
- DL Calijah Kancey, Buccaneers ($14.48MM): Exercised
- WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks ($23.85MM): Exercised
- WR Quentin Johnston, Chargers ($18MM)
- WR Zay Flowers, Ravens ($27.3MM): Exercised
- WR Jordan Addison, Vikings ($18MM): Exercised
- CB Deonte Banks, Giants ($12.63MM)
- TE Dalton Kincaid, Bills ($8.16MM): Exercised
- DT Mazi Smith, Jets ($13.93MM)
- RT Anton Harrison, Jaguars ($19.07MM): Exercised
- DE Myles Murphy, Bengals ($14.48MM)
- DT Bryan Bresee, Saints ($13.93MM): Exercised
- DE Nolan Smith, Eagles ($13.75MM): Exercised
- DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Chiefs ($13.75MM)
Jets Expect To Pick Up Will McDonald’s Fifth-Year Option
Although general manager Darren Mougey was not in place when the Jets drafted Will McDonald 15th overall in 2023, he is prepared to keep the edge rusher around for at least two more seasons. Mougey said Monday that the Jets expect to pick up McDonald’s $14.48MM fifth-year option for 2027 (via Connor Hughes of SNY).
A year after using a first-rounder on pass rusher Jermaine Johnson, ex-GM Joe Douglas doubled down in taking McDonald. A former Iowa standout, McDonald filled a limited role during a 15-game, zero-start rookie campaign. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder played just 16.18% of defensive snaps and totaled three sacks, though the Jets’ reliance on McDonald has increased heavily since then.
New York fired defensive-minded head coach Robert Saleh and replaced him with D-coordinator Jeff Ulbrich during the 2024 season, a career year for McDonald. While playing all 17 games and starting 15, McDonald posted personal bests in pressures (61), quarterback hits (24), tackles for loss (11) and sacks (10.5).
Despite his quality pass-rushing production two years ago, Pro Football Focus ranked McDonald a below-average 79th among 121 edge defenders. A poor grade against the run was the culprit, which was the case again in 2025. Playing his first year under another defensive-minded head coach, Aaron Glenn, McDonald ranked 84th among 115 players at his position (via PFF). Over 15 games and 14 starts, the 26-year-old’s pressures dropped to 42. The rest of his numbers also declined to some degree. He registered 19 QB hits, 10 TFL and eight sacks (four of which came in a Week 10 outburst against the Browns) before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December.
McDonald drew interest leading up to last November’s trade deadline, but the Jets were more open to trading Johnson. They have since dealt Johnson to Tennessee, reuniting him with Saleh, for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. On the other hand, they remain committed to McDonald, who will team with free agent signing Joseph Ossai and potentially a first-round rookie as the Jets’ top edge rushers next season.
Jets Notes: Draft, McDonald, Cook, Cross, Vera-Tucker, Simpson, Davis
Trading former first-round pick Jermaine Johnson to the Titans, the Jets look to have opened the door to selecting another edge rusher with the No. 2 overall pick. As PFR’s Adam La Rose indicated when the team shipped Johnson to Nashville for T’Vondre Sweat, the trade could certainly telegraph the Jets’ draft plans.
With the Raiders almost certain to draft Fernando Mendoza first overall, the Jets are expected to have their pick of edge rushers. Arvell Reese and David Bailey look to be the top candidates for that slot, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini notes. Reese has played on and the ball as a standout Ohio State linebacker, but he looks to want a shot on the edge to start his NFL career.
The Jets will still be considered likely to exercise Will McDonald‘s fifth-year option ($14.48MM), but the Joe Douglas-era investment looks on the verge of teaming with a big-ticket rookie draftee. That would make three first-round edge defenders in five drafts for New York, which selected Johnson in 2022 and McDonald in ’23.
The Jets have lost Johnson, Quinnen Williams, Haason Reddick, John Franklin-Myers and Bryce Huff from their D-line since the 2024 free agency period. With Micheal Clemons on track for free agency, McDonald is the last man standing here. The Jets are believed to be interested in unloading more Douglas-era pieces, and two more figure to be on the move next week.
Both Alijah Vera-Tucker and John Simpson are expected to depart in free agency, Essentiallysports.com’s Tony Pauline adds. That will create glaring Gang Green guard needs. It should not be considered a certainty both leave, though, as Cimini counters by saying the Jets will keep in touch with both blockers. Both interior linemen are, however, expected to at least test the market next week.
Vera-Tucker’s market would be booming had he not missed all of last season — with his third major injury since entering the NFL in 2021 — with a triceps tear. Simpson started two seasons at left guard in New York, not missing a game during that span. Simpson will be heading into an age-29 season, while Vera-Tucker will turn 27 in June.
This Jets regime will be looking to add replacements across the roster, holding more than $74MM in cap space. They have Tony Adams and 2025 UFA addition Andre Cisco bound for the market, and Cimini adds that Bryan Cook and Nick Cross are two safeties the team is believed to have its eye on.
Cook worked as a four-year Chiefs starter, starting every Kansas City game over the past two seasons. The former Super Bowl starter ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 4 overall safety in 2025. A two-year Colts starter, Cross has been incredibly productive since being inserted into Indianapolis’ lineup. He has combined for 266 tackles (11 for loss) over the past two seasons, also not missing a game in that span. The Colts, who transition-tagged Daniel Jones today and have four DBs tied to eight-figure-per-year salaries, are likely to let Cross walk next week.
Minkah Fitzpatrick also looms as a name to monitor, per Cimini, who reminds new DC Brian Duker coached the recent Dolphins reacquisition as Miami’s defensive pass-game coordinator last season. One year remains on Fitzpatrick’s Steelers-designed/Dolphins-adjusted pact, which Miami’s new regime is believed to be trying to trade. The Jets are also believed to be eyeing edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad — who played for Aaron Glenn in Detroit in 2024 — and Cimini confirms a recent report that tied the team to ex-Glenn Lions LB pupil Alex Anzalone.
An interesting reunion may be in the Jets’ plans as well. Demario Davis is back on the team’s radar, Pauline adds. The Jets are believed to be targeting the 14-year veteran — originally a Jets draftee back in 2012 — ahead of his age-37 season. Davis, who already logged two Jets stints (2012-15, 2017), has become one of the league’s best off-ball LBs since relocating to New Orleans. Glenn was on the Saints’ staff for three of Davis’ eight New Orleans seasons.
The prolific Saints tackler has racked up five All-Pro nods (four second-team placements) as a Saint. The Jets gave Jamien Sherwood a three-year, $45MM deal to stay but are almost certain to lose Quincy Williams — a Robert Saleh-Jeff Ulbrich All-Pro piece who drew trade buzz before the deadline — in free agency.
Closing out this Jets rundown, the team’s aging kicker — Nick Folk — is not looking to retire just yet. The 41-year-old kicker, who joins Davis in being a two-stint Jet, is aiming to play at 42 in 2026, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds. Despite his advancing age, the 2007 UDFA has led the NFL in accuracy in each of the past three seasons. This included a 96.6% make rate in 2025, when Folk made 7 of 8 tries from beyond 50 yards.
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.
Jets Defense Loses Three To IR
As one of the first teams eliminated from playoff contention, the Jets don’t have much to play for down the stretch. That makes it slightly more bearable that today they put three defenders on injured reserve.
The biggest loss to the unit is that of third-year defensive end Will McDonald. The former first-round selection out of Iowa State has followed up last year’s breakout 10.5-sack campaign with another strong season. A starter in 14 of 15 contests this year, McDonald leads the Jets in sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (10). As McDonald sits out the rest of the way with a knee injury, the Green & White will close the season with Micheal Clemons and Braiden McGregor filling in across from Jermaine Johnson.
The Jets’ second IR placement simply confirms the end of a rookie’s season. Seventh-round Miami-product Kiko Mauigoa was expected to be a core special teamer and reserve linebacker in his first year as a pro. When starter Quincy Williams was placed on IR three weeks into the season, Mauigoa stepped in to start eight of the next nine games, though his contributions started to tail off in those last few weeks with Williams coming back into the picture. The rookie has missed the team’s last two games with a shoulder injury and has officially been shut down until 2026.
The last loss going into the final two weeks of the season is that of defensive tackle Jay Tufele. Signing with the Jets after finishing out his rookie contract in Cincinnati, Tufele looked to be competing for a starting job early in the offseason. Ultimately, he found himself coming off the bench behind Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs, earning two starts in a healthy rotation. With Tufele’s season ending, depth pieces Khalen Saunders and Payton Page should compete for snaps behind Phillips and Briggs, assuming recent trade acquisition Mazi Smith continues to be designated as a healthy scratch.
With games against the division-rival Patriots and Bills to close out the season, a depleted Jets defense may put up little resistance against two formidable offenses playing for division titles and a potential playoff first-round bye.
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’ 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.
Jets Rumors: HCs, Kingsbury, Johnson, Moses, Adams, McDonald
There are going to be plenty of question marks for the Jets to solve this offseason, but the most important one is going to be the head coaching position. After firing Robert Saleh in early-October, Jeff Ulbrich has been serving as interim head coach, but in the last ten years, only three of 23 interim coaches have been hired for the official job following their interim duties.
According to Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York, team owner Woody Johnson is overseeing the head coaching search, and the organization has already “started putting feelers out on potential head coaching candidates.” This doesn’t bode well for Ulbrich, who has only gone 1-5 since taking over as the interim head coach.
Here are a few other rumors coming out of New York:
- Speaking of head coaching searches, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury interviewed for the Jets’ open job back in 2019. According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, Kingsbury’s interview “went terribly,” partially due to the fact that he likely already knew that the Cardinals’ job was his. Six years later, Kingsbury’s name is likely to pop up again this offseason in head coaching conversations. He may get a second chance at his Jets interview.
- With a head coaching search in progress and a potential change in general manager looming, as well, Johnson’s role as owner becomes a crucial one. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, though, there’s reportedly uncertainty because of Johnson’s volatility. Specifically, there appears to be a sense that Johnson takes too many opinions from “nonfootball people” and listens far too often to social media and the internet. That’s a scary concept for Jets fans to swallow as they gear up for another potential rebuild.
- According to Costello, Jets starting right tackle Morgan Moses has been playing through a grade 2 MCL sprain, a meniscus issue, and a fracture in his knee for the last several weeks. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Moses has been “sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber and rehabbing around the clock” in order to get into playing shape each week.
- Per Rich Cimini of ESPN, the Jets are experimenting with giving starting safety Tony Adams a bit less time on the field. An every-down player since 2023, Adams is the team’s third-leading tackler this season despite missing four tackles last week and missing the prior two games with a hamstring injury. Jalen Mills had been filling in during Adams’ absence, and he may be taking up the slack as Adams handles a reduced role.
- Defensive end Will McDonald didn’t do too much to live up to his first-round draft status as a rookie last year. In Year 2, McDonald is looking much more worthy of the Day 1 pick, totaling eight sacks in ten games this season. There were assumptions after the draft that the Jets had reached for McDonald after the Steelers traded ahead of them to draft offensive tackle Broderick Jones, the assumed target of New York. According to Cimini, general manager Joe Douglas always preferred McDonald over Jones, intending to pair him opposite their first-round pick from the previous year, Jermaine Johnson, for the foreseeable future. McDonald’s sophomore success has made it clear that perhaps the Jets did not reach, as many assumed.
Jets Sign Top Two Draft Picks, Wrap Rookie Contracts
The Jets are among the Saints and Packers as the most recent teams to conclude the signing of their 2023 draft classes. Early this morning Connor Hughes of SNY, reported that Iowa State first-round defensive end Will McDonald had officially signed his rookie contract, while ESPN’s Rich Cimini quickly added that Wisconsin second-round center Joe Tippmann was soon to follow, wrapping up New York’s latest rookie class. 
While McDonald’s deal underwent the usual scrutiny of a first-round selection, Tippmann was drafted in an area of the draft that has seen some stalls in negotiations. Guarantees authorized for Panthers rookie wide receiver Jonathan Mingo has many rookies selected around similar draft slots pushing for similar contract details.
McDonald left Ames not only as the school’s all-time sack record holder but also the holder for the all-time lead in the Big 12, surpassing Von Miller‘s Texas A&M total of 33.0 sacks by one (coincidentally, the one sack earned in the four games of his redshirted true freshman year won him the record). He earned all those accolades despite the fact that he didn’t play football until his junior year of high school. The inexperience tends to show at times. He has all the tools of a strong NFL pass rusher but has yet to put them all together.
McDonald should get plenty of run in a deep rotation of Jets pass rushers. He might not get to start with Carl Lawson and John Franklin-Myers currently penciled in for the first-team defense, but McDonald and last year’s first-round pick, Jermaine Johnson, form a dangerous, young pair of backups that could result in an unrelenting barrage for opposing tackles.
In the second round, New York nabbed the draft’s top center prospect in Tippmann. There are two main differences between Tippmann and last year’s top-drafted center, Tyler Linderbaum of the Ravens. While Linderbaum (6-foot-2) was marked for being undersized, Tippmann (6-foot-6) is gigantic for what is normal at the position. Linderbaum had the ability to overcome his issues through effort and leverage. Tippmann, too, will need to utilize body position and balance in matchups with defensive tackles, but his quickness and strength off the ball were enough to help him succeed in his two years as a starter for the Badgers at center.
The other difference is that Tippmann may not project as an immediate starter, since Connor McGovern ranked as a top-ten center according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) last year, but he can certainly push for the job or others around it. While nearly 100 percent of Tippmann’s college snaps came at center, he has practiced at guard and tackle. He has the size and intelligence to make the move to another position, if necessary, but he’s likely only a starting-caliber player at an interior position, right now. This early, he really only slots in as talented, young depth for the interior line with the potential for more when given the opportunity.
With equal focus on offense and defense, the Jets had a sense of where they wanted to improve and added some good value at each draft slot. Here is New York’s 2023 draft class:
Round 1, No. 15 (from Packers): Will McDonald, DE (Iowa State) (signed)
Round 2, No. 43: Joe Tippmann, C (Wisconsin) (signed)
Round 4, No. 120 (from Steelers through Patriots): Carter Warren, OT (Pittsburgh) (signed)
Round 5, No. 143: Israel Abanikanda, RB (Pittsburgh) (signed)
Round 6, No. 184 (from Raiders through Patriots): Zaire Barnes, LB (Western Michigan) (signed)
Round 6, No. 204 (from Cowboys through Raiders): Jarrick Bernard-Converse, CB (LSU) (signed)
Round 7, No. 220 (from Cardinals through Raiders): Zack Kuntz, TE (Old Dominion) (signed)