By Suraj Kodali,The Lead
Copyright yardbarker
No coach wants to see one of their four captains go down, but the business-as-usual tone shows that the Jets are bought in on this next man up mentality. Glenn knows this better than anyone, having to adjust to 13 defensive IR stints with the Lions last season. Even when it was Aidan Hutchinson, the injuries never really seemed to devastate the Lions until they just ran out of bodies. For New York, that’s not a problem yet.
Offseason Moves
Although the headline move up front certainly was the selection of Missouri’s Armand Membou, the Jets quietly made other shrewd moves in the lead up to the draft. Bringing in center Josh Myers looms larger than ever with Vera-Tucker out for months.
Xavier Newman-Johnson, a Jet since 2023, has carved out a role for himself as a quality pinch starter in case of an injury crisis. Although he’s never started a regular season game, he’s stacked two strong preseasons, recording PFF grades of 78.8 and 61.6 the last two years. His 11 offensive snaps in 2024 don’t inspire a ton of confidence, but his ability to stick around for a regime change suggests there’s confidence in him within the building.
Meanwhile, Myers’ much more palatable resume suggests he’s on the inside track to start. A four year starter in Green Bay, Myers made his living as a serviceable yet expendable player for Matt Lafleur. After his rookie contract ended with the Packers, signing Myers on a $4 million deal was seen as an excellent depth piece in case of injury. However, training camp made the deal significantly more controversial.
Training Camp Battle
Despite having well documented snapping issues the previous off-season, Joe Tippmann appeared to be the entrenched starting center after putting together a top ten season. That wasn’t the case, as Glenn caused a storm by announcing a competition at center between the incumbent and Myers, despite the latter grading as the 38th best center in 2024.
