Alex Anzalone and 5 ex-Lions the Jets could reunite with Aaron Glenn in free agency

The New York Jets enter the 2026 offseason with no shortage of urgency or resources. Armed with more than $80 million in projected cap space and coming off another disappointing season, the Jets know this is a pivotal year for head coach Aaron Glenn.

Glenn knows it, too. Winning needs to happen now. That reality is likely to push the Jets toward an aggressive approach in free agency, and the NFL has always been a league built on relationships.

With Glenn entering his second season in Florham Park, don’t be surprised if he looks to familiar faces to help accelerate his intended culture shift. His time in Detroit offers a logical place to start.

Here are five former Lions the Jets could target in free agency this offseason, starting with the most obvious player on the list.

5 former Lions Aaron Glenn and the Jets could target in free agency

1. LB Alex Anzalone

Alex Anzalone’s career truly took off under Glenn in Detroit. After an underwhelming start with the Saints, Anzalone became a cornerstone of the Lions’ defense, emerging as a team captain, locker-room leader, and fan favorite.

Over the past five seasons, he’s been one of Detroit’s most important defensive players and a clear embodiment of the culture Glenn helped establish. Now 31 and set to hit free agency, Anzalone’s time with the Lions appears to be nearing its end.

The fit is obvious here. Quincy Williams is unlikely to return, Jamien Sherwood struggled after his extension, and the defense needs a dependable presence at linebacker.

While signing a 30-plus-year-old free agent isn’t ideal for the Jets right now, Anzalone makes too much sense to ignore. If the Jets want a proven leader to help set the tone under Glenn, this is the most logical reunion on the list.

2. DE Al-Quadin Muhammad

Al-Quadin Muhammad quietly put together a breakout season in Detroit in 2025, finishing with a career-high 11 sacks while playing just 41 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps.

He also recorded a career-best 53 total pressures and emerged as one of Detroit’s most productive pass rushers. Now set to hit free agency, Muhammad is coming off the best year of his career at the perfect time.

Much like with Anzalone, the connections here can't be ignored. The Jets will be in the market for defensive end depth and additional pass-rush help, and Muhammad checks both boxes, while also bringing an extensive web of connections.

He spent the 2024 season under Aaron Glenn in Detroit and also crossed paths with Glenn earlier in his career in New Orleans. On top of that, Muhammad played four seasons in Indianapolis under Frank Reich, the Jets’ newly hired offensive coordinator. There are simply too many dots connecting here for the Jets to ignore.

3. CB Amik Robertson

A fourth-round pick of the Raiders in 2020, Amik Robertson resurrected his career in Detroit as one of the league’s better nickel cornerbacks, and few players feel more like an “Aaron Glenn guy” than Robertson.

Listed at just 5-foot-9 and 183 pounds, Robertson is undersized but relentlessly physical, playing with an edge and toughness that defined Glenn’s defenses with the Lions.

He’s a feisty, competitive defender who fights for every snap, and he’s spoken glowingly about Glenn in the past, making it clear the two built a close relationship in Detroit. Now a free agent, a reunion makes plenty of sense.

The Jets currently have Jarvis Brownlee handling the nickel role after acquiring him midseason, but Brownlee hardly feels like a lock after playing just a handful of games before suffering a late injury.

Brownlee and Robertson are similar stylistically, but Robertson offers a longer track record and a familiarity with Glenn’s expectations. If the Jets decide to upgrade the slot corner spot, Robertson is a natural candidate as someone Glenn knows and trusts.

4. S Ifeatu Melifonwu

Ifeatu Melifonwu is the lone player on this list who wasn’t with the Lions last season, but his ties to Aaron Glenn are still prevalent. A third-round pick out of Syracuse in 2021, Melifonwu spent the first four years of his career in Detroit, where he served as a rotational defensive back under Glenn.

He appeared in just three games in 2024 due to multiple injuries, but he did start all three contests. After signing a one-year, $4 million deal with the Dolphins last offseason, Melifonwu rebounded in 2025, starting eight of 16 games.

That stint is particularly notable for the Jets, as it connected him not only to Glenn but also to new defensive coordinator Brian Duker, who served as Miami’s secondary coach and pass game coordinator.

With Andre Cisco unlikely to return and the safety room in need of reinforcements alongside Malachi Moore, Melifonwu makes sense as a familiar, low-risk addition. He may not be a star, but given the connections, don’t be surprised if the Jets view him as a rotational piece worth adding.

5. DE Marcus Davenport

Marcus Davenport is another familiar face for Glenn, dating back to their time together in New Orleans. A first-round pick of the Saints in 2018, Davenport flashed legitimate pass-rush upside early in his career, most notably in a breakout 2021 season in which he recorded nine sacks in just 11 games.

When healthy, he’s shown the ability to be a disruptive edge rusher, which is something the Jets could certainly use. The problem, of course, has always been availability.

Davenport’s career has been derailed by a relentless string of injuries, limiting him to just 14 total games over the past three seasons. After an injury-shortened stint with the Vikings in 2023, he signed with the Lions in 2024 and reunited with Glenn, only to suffer a season-ending triceps injury two games into the year.

He returned in 2025 but played just eight games due to a chest injury, adding to a medical history that has included shoulder, hand, and foot surgeries. That history will understandably scare teams away from any significant financial commitment, but the Jets could make sense as a low-risk, high-reward landing spot.

The Jets need defensive end depth, and Glenn knows Davenport well from multiple stops. If they decide to take a swing on upside, Davenport is exactly the type of gamble that could be on their radar, provided the price is right.