Jamien Sherwood spent the offseason working on his biggest weakness

It's no secret that the New York Jets had a major problem at the linebacker position throughout the 2025 season. Jamien Sherwood and Quincy Williams, despite having solid 2024 outings, regressed hard last year in Steve Wilks' defense.

It got so bad that the Jets benched both linebackers at different parts of the season. Sherwood missed the first two possessions of New York's Week 8 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, while Williams was shown the bench ahead of the team's Week 10 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.

It eased the Jets' decision to let Williams walk in free agency and made the position a pressing need throughout the offseason. That's why they went out and signed veteran Demario Davis, who, despite his age, is still one of the best in the league.

But the Jets are stuck with Sherwood for a while longer. He's entering the second season of the three-year, $45 million contract he signed in March 2025 and will be a featured piece of the Jets' defense in 2026.

Luckily for Jets fans, Sherwood knows the area of his game that needed the most work, and he says he attacked it this offseason in preparation for his new role.

New York Jets LB Jamien Sherwood worked on his coverage skills this offseason

Speaking with reporters after a training camp practice, Sherwood recognized his struggles in coverage throughout the 2025 season and worked to fix them throughout the spring and into this summer.

"Last year, where I struggled a little bit was in pass coverage. And I feel like this offseason, I took it upon myself to make sure I correct those things...So again, it just gives me the chance to show my athletic ability and do better than I did last time."

It's safe to say Sherwood was one of the league's poorest coverage defenders last season. According to Pro Football Focus, he received a coverage grade of 46.1, ranked 66th among 88 qualified linebackers.

For the 10th highest-paid linebacker in the league, that's just not good enough. But lucky for Sherwood, he's being put in a better position to succeed in 2026.

With Davis' addition to the Jets defense, Sherwood can go back to playing weakside linebacker - which is the position he excelled alongside C.J. Mosley earlier in his career.

With less responsibility on his plate, Sherwood can go back to what he does best. Running sideline to sideline and making plays with his athletic ability.

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