Former Jets player confirms he was out for vengeance in London

A familiar face stood in the center of the New York Jets offense's nine-sack debacle in London. It was a player the green and white faithful know well and miss dearly. None other than old friend John Franklin-Myers.

Franklin-Myers was at the center of one of the most head-scratching decisions of the Joe Douglas era. On day three of the 2024 NFL Draft, Douglas sent Franklin-Myers to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick. The ridiculously low price the Jets received for such a quality player was justified as a cap-saving move.

Denver quickly reworked his contract, showing that a trade was not in fact necessary. Meanwhile, the Jets' pass rush was never the same without the versatile defensive lineman. The edge room has sunk to new depths this season as the likes of Micheal Clemons and Eric Watts have struggled to fill the power-end position left vacant by Franklin-Myers.

Denver now leads the NFL in sacks with 30, of which Franklin-Myers has accounted for three. The Jets? Well, they rank among the dregs of the league, sitting just two spots from the bottom with a paltry eight sacks.

John Franklin-Myers confirms on social media that he was out for payback against the Jets in London

The 29-year-old ex-Jet recorded three hurries, one quarterback hit, a sack, and a run stop against the Jets in London. The stat line doesn't do his performance justice. Even when he wasn't credited with a stat, his penetration, excellent execution of stunts, and powerful bull rushes disrupted New York's timing and gave his teammates an opportunity to clean up.

Brian Baldinger posted an excellent breakdown of Franklin-Myers' performance on Twitter/X, tagging the former Broncos' standout in his post a drawing a response.

"I got counted out by the same people I was counting on, this is me just venting!" the 29-year-old replied as he quote-tweeted Baldinger's video, highlighting just how personal the matchup was for him.

Likely, Franklin-Myers was pushed out as a result of the Jets' acquisition of Haason Reddick and a fear that there were too many mouths to feed in the edge room last season. Reddick would record just one sack for the Jets, playing just 10 games, thanks to a contract dispute. Franklin-Myers, meanwhile, racked up a career-high seven sacks in 2024.

It's unfortunate but understandable that he'd feel this way. The Jets claimed Franklin-Myers off waivers from the St. Louis Rams in 2019 and developed him into the quality player he is today.

They just didn't value how unique he actually is with his ability to reduce inside and rush from the 3-technique position on passing downs, while playing stout run defense on early downs.

Ironically, Franklin-Myers is exactly what the Jets are missing on their struggling defensive line now. As of now, he's yet to receive a contract extension from the Broncos, but don't count on a return to the Jets to be in the cards, even though he'd be the perfect answer to their defensive line woes.