Aaron Glenn ends Breece Hall trade rumors with one definitive statement

New York Jets running back Breece Hall entered the 2025 offseason surrounded by uncertainty. After a breakout 2023 campaign that firmly established him as one of the league’s most dynamic young running backs, Hall followed it up with a highly disappointing 2024 season.

With a new coaching staff taking over, two young running backs in the mix, and Hall entering the final year of his rookie deal, trade rumors quickly took off, and they never really slowed down.

There were reports of preliminary talks with teams like the Denver Broncos. Reports speculated that the Jets might look to move on while Hall still had value, especially after his 2024 struggles with efficiency and ball security.

For a while, it was fair to wonder if Hall had already played his final down in a Jets uniform. But according to Hall, that was never the plan, at least not in the eyes of his new head coach.

Hall revealed this week that Aaron Glenn personally reached out to him during the offseason to offer reassurance and clarity. “Breece, I don’t want to trade you. You're our running back," Glenn told him.

NY Jets issue a strong statement of commitment to Breece Hall

Hall’s 2024 season was a far cry from the player who finished fourth in the NFL in scrimmage yards just a year earlier. Despite finally running behind a competent offensive line, Hall averaged a career-low 4.2 yards per carry and just 0.15 rushing yards over expected (RYOE).

He wasn’t seeing stacked boxes either, as only 13.29% of his carries came against eight or more defenders, well below the league average. The drop in efficiency was alarming. The ball security issues were worse.

Hall fumbled six times in 2024, doubling his total from his first two seasons combined, and led the Jets with nine drops. The ball security issues were even more concerning than his sudden lack of explosiveness.

The position already has one of the shortest shelf lives in football, and turnover issues can fast-track a running back to the bench or off the roster entirely. It’s no surprise, then, that the Jets explored their options.

The Jets selected two running backs in the 2024 NFL Draft: Braelon Allen in the fourth round and Isaiah Davis in the fifth. Both flashed at times during their rookie seasons, with Allen earning the backup role early before Davis carved out more touches late.

Given Hall’s regression and the team’s uncertain direction at the time, many believed the Jets were preparing for a full-blown committee or even a post-Hall future.

But Glenn clearly saw it differently. The new head coach’s message to Hall — that he didn’t want to trade him, and that he still saw him as the running back — was a statement of commitment.

The Jets weren’t shopping Hall. They were listening, as any smart organization does. In the end, they choose to believe in their talented young running back. Or, at the very least, the offers they received didn't match their perceived value of Hall.

The hope now is that Hall can bounce back to his 2023 form, when he looked like one of the NFL’s best all-around backs despite recovering from a torn ACL and playing in the league’s second-worst offense. That version of Hall is still in there, and Glenn is betting on him to find it.

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