Jets lose starting DB to season-ending injury ahead of bye week

The New York Jets’ emotional 39-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday came with a dose of bad news in the days that followed, as another notable starter on defense has been lost to injury.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Tuesday night that starting safety Andre Cisco suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the game that will require surgery, likely ending his 2025 season.

Cisco exited in the fourth quarter and was replaced by former undrafted free agent Tony Adams, who had been benched for rookie Malachi Moore just a few weeks earlier. Head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters on Monday that Cisco was dealing with a shoulder injury, though the severity was unclear at the time.

Now, the Jets are preparing to be without Cisco for the remainder of the season, and given his contract situation, he may have already played his final game as a member of his hometown team.

Jets lose starting safety Andre Cisco to likely season-ending injury

The Jets signed Cisco to a one-year, $8.5 million contract in the offseason with the hope that he could bring a true ball-hawking presence to the back end of their defense. Unfortunately, he never quite lived up to those expectations.

Cisco's play was inconsistent across his eight starts with the team, finishing with a middling 61.3 Pro Football Focus grade that currently ranks 51st out of 88 qualified safeties. That includes a lowly 43.6 PFF tackling grade and a career-worst 18.4% missed tackle rate.

Cisco has also been tagged with allowing a team-high three touchdowns in coverage and owns a dreadful 152.6 passer rating when targeted — the second-worst mark among 74 qualified safeties (minimum 130 defensive snaps).

The Jets will likely turn to Adams to fill Cisco’s spot on defense, just a few weeks after he was removed from the starting lineup in favor of the aforementioned Moore. To Adams’ credit, he made the most of his limited action on Sunday, earning a team-high 89.9 PFF grade on just 10 defensive snaps.

The team also has veteran Isaiah Oliver available as a backup safety, along with undrafted rookie Dean Clark and recently signed J.T. Woods on the practice squad. Clark has already been elevated for three games this season, making him the most likely candidate to take Cisco’s spot on the 53-man roster.

The Jets hope to have Sauce Gardner back on the field when they return from their bye in a couple of weeks, but they will be down one of their starting safeties. Andre Cisco is likely done for the remainder of the season.