Jets locker room response after Jaguars loss sends troubling message

The New York Jets lost yet another game on Sunday, something fans are accustomed to. The players' response after the game, though, was a departure from the ordinary... at least, during the still-young Aaron Glenn era.

I'm not saying the Aaron Glenn era has been a joyous Christmas retreat with sugar cookies and rainbows. Of course not. This is a 3-11 football team that's gone through three different iterations of attempted quarterback play. To say they're limping to the finish line would be understating things. Really, they're crawling there in agony.

Whatever the reasons for the lack of wins, internal culture has not appeared to be the primary issue. While there has been criticism of some post-loss rhetoric, much of it has centered on Aaron Glenn himself. Even so, a significant portion of that criticism has felt amplified by an unforgiving New York media environment rather than rooted in genuine locker-room dysfunction.

The culture has appeared to be trending in a positive direction, but after the Jets' 48-20 thumping at the hands of the Jaguars on Sunday, the players gave us, for the first time, a reason to question the state of the locker room.

Jets leaders spoke volumes without saying a word in Week 15

It's unclear which current Jets will remain on the roster come 2026. Just about everyone is up for sale. The most important "players" the Jets have aren't even on their roster yet. It's their collection of picks that they hope to turn into a winning team someday.

But to the extent that there are any Jets who would be nice to see stick around for a bit, Quincy Williams and certainly Jermaine Johnson are among the few at the top of that list.

That's why it was so disappointing to see them leading the charge of not speaking after the Jacksonville loss. Now, I'll preface this by saying that I'm the last person who cares whether or not players give canned answers to the media.

But even I recognize the importance of the locker room leaders owning up to the results after a loss. No one is here to blame either Johnson or Williams. There's no reason they shouldn't be able to field a small handful of questions, with no expectation of thoughtful responses.

The most plausible explanation for Johnson declining to speak and Williams saying he had “nothing positive to say” is growing frustration with how things are being run.

Granted, it would be legally insane not to be frustrated with the New York Jets' rights now. I don't think anyone in the Jets orbit hasn't been frustrated since 2011. But we all know, including the players, where the team is right now. They aren't going to be winning. The rest of the season is a formality.

Both of these guys know that. For them to throw what amounts to a temper tantrum belongs at the top of the "concerning Jets culture" file that I hope someone is keeping.

The players have seemed bought-in all season long, but after allowing 438 yards of total offense to 284 yards to a team likely going to the playoffs, the players were still totally dismayed. Why?

This isn't to say that anyone should be happy with losing — quite the opposite. But when you lose a late-season game to a team in a significantly higher tier when your playoff hopes are long over, it's not the time to demonstrate your outrage.

It's a little bit late for that.

It’s difficult to interpret that reaction as anything other than frustration with how things are being managed at the top. If that’s the case, it raises legitimate questions about Williams’ and Johnson’s long-term futures with the organization. Their buy-in appears to be wavering, and neither player is so indispensable that the Jets couldn’t move forward without them.

The Jets are still years away from contending. No one on this roster is a lock to be here long-term. Anyone with this mentality might not fit with Glenn going forward.