4 players Darren Mougey has no business letting return to Jets in 2026

The New York Jets have the luxury of not being sentimental with their roster, as there are so few players that head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey should be thrilled to work with again after the pair won just three games in a very below-average debut season.

The Jets have oodles of cap space they can use to build a roster that other teams will finally start to fear, but they need to continue their demolition of a unit that began when they traded away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.

As such, many of the members from a team that was literal percentage points away from acquiring the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft will need to find employment elsewhere.

If Mougey brings back any one of these four players, it will likely be viewed as a very confusing decision that will not help the Jets in their eternal quest to climb back to respectability.

4 players Jets GM Darren Mougey has no business bringing back in 2026

4. WR Josh Reynolds

Reynolds was signed with the thought that he could get back to his old form if healthy. Instead, he got injured almost immediately and didn't have any noteworthy big catches during his short-lived stint as the No. 2 wide receiver. Reynolds may find it hard to latch on with a team after this stint.

3. SAF Andre Cisco

Cisco was supposed to provide bang-average safety play with a veteran edge to it, and he instead gave the Jets below-par play. New York quickly found out why the Jacksonville Jaguars were so quick to move off him, and the season-ending injury midway through the year was just icing on the cake.

2. SAF Tony Adams

Adams has been the bane of Jets fans' existence over the last few years, as he went from a UDFA success story to one of the worst tacklers in football and a below-average starting safety. New defensive coordinator Brian Duker, who helped develop Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch with the Detroit Lions, will likely aim higher.

1. LB Quincy Williams

Williams clearly did not want to be a Jet after his brother was traded to the Cowboys, and the combination of that loss of fire and his worst individual season in years makes it perfectly clear that both parties would be much better off seeking a fresher start elsewhere.