Former New York Jets Post-Week 3 check-in: Robert Saleh, Jermaine Johnson flop

The New York Jets are 1-2 to start the 2026 NFL season, as Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey's strategy of washing away many of the players from the past regime has made the Jets a very watchable football team.

Mougey's roster purge has led to some players finding their footing elsewhere and putting together a respectable beginning to the 2026 campaign, but just as many (if not more) continue to struggle in their new digs.

After the Week 3 slate, which former Jets had some success, and which ones continue to sputter out?

Former New York Jets check-in after Week 3 games

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Rodgers has been borderline Cooper Rush-level unwatchable in the Steelers' first two games, but he turned back the clock a bit in a Week 3 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Rodgers threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns against an improved Bengals defense, pushing the Steelers to 2-1 in what he has all but confirmed will be his final NFL season.

Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans

Saleh's Tennessee Titans tenure has started off so poorly that it has all but sapped all the goodwill the fanbase allotted to him. Tennessee is now 0-3, with two losses coming as a result of bungled execution late in the fourth quarter.

While Cam Ward has given him some wretched quarterback play, it's on Saleh and the staff to turn him around. Turns out combining the Saleh-era Jets and Brian Daboll-era Giants together into one hodgepodge of flotsam has not made the Titans a winner.

Jermaine Johnson, Tennessee Titans

Johnson was perhaps the most noteworthy of the former Jets Saleh brought in, trading T'Vondre Sweat to acquire him. While Sweat has been a rock-solid run-stuffer at nose tackle for the Jets, Johnson appears to be showing signs that he may never regain the Pro Bowl form he showcased in his second season with the Jets.

Johnson, who had just three sacks last season and none in 2024 before his injury, has just eight tackles to his name in Tennessee and no quarterback takedowns. With no quarterback hits and a 45.5 Pro Football Focus pass rush grade that ranks as the worst mark for any edge rusher in the league, Johnson's lack of juice on the outside is disheartening.

Quincy Williams, Cleveland Browns

Williams was roasted for poor performance in his Browns debut, but he has since picked up the pace for a Cleveland team that has surprisingly won two straight games. Williams recorded nine tackles and a quarterback hit on a blitz in the Browns' Week 3 win against the Carolina Panthers.

Quinnen Williams, Dallas Cowboys

Williams has gotten off to an unusually sluggish start on a bad Cowboys defense, as his 48.1 PFF grade ranked 98th out of 126 qualified players at the position. Williams' All-Pro history suggests he will turn it around, but Dallas needs that reversal to happen soon.

Sauce Gardner, Indianapolis Colts

Gardner won his first game in almost two years on American soil in the Colts' Week 3 victory against the Houston Texans. The Colts' defense has been far from dominant, but Gardner is providing his usual blend of elite coverage and questionable tackling.

Micheal Clemons, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts not only signed someone Jets fans lost all goodwill toward after the 2025 season, but they gave him a three-year contract. With no tackles through two games and an IR stint coming for the former Texas A&M product, there may be some buyer's remorse in Indy.

Zach Wilson, New Orleans Saints

Wilson didn't play as the QB3 in New Orleans, perhaps because he is very bad.

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