Joe Tippmann admits he was ‘surprised’ by Jets’ baffling camp decision

It’s not every day you see one of the NFL’s best young centers suddenly forced to fight for his job, but that’s exactly where Joe Tippmann finds himself at the start of New York Jets training camp.

The 2023 second-round pick told reporters on Wednesday that he was “surprised” when the team signed veteran center Josh Myers this offseason, adding that head coach Aaron Glenn gave him a call to explain the move.

That call came before Myers inked his one-year, $3 million deal, a signing that was expected at the time to be little more than a depth addition. Fast-forward a few months and Myers is legitimately competing with Tippmann for the starting center job.

And while Tippmann remains the heavy favorite to win the job, the mere existence of this so-called competition is pretty nonsensical. A borderline top-10 center last season, Tippmann now finds himself fighting off a player who has been one of the league's worst starting centers.

It’s one of the strangest storylines of the Jets’ offseason, and, if we're being honest, it’s hard to blame Tippmann for being caught off guard.

Why is Joe Tippmann 'competing' with Josh Myers again?

Tippmann was one of the few bright spots on a Jets offense that was otherwise dismal in 2024. The second-year lineman looked every bit like a long-term cornerstone, finishing the year with a 73.4 Pro Football Focus grade which ranked eighth among all qualified centers in the NFL.

His 77.3 run-blocking grade ranked seventh out of 37 qualifiers, and he allowed just 23 total pressures all season despite playing with one of the least mobile QBs in the NFL.

That performance is what makes it all the more bizarre that the new Jets regime felt the need to manufacture a “competition” this summer.

Tippmann’s challenger, Josh Myers, was signed to a backup-level contract in March. A four-year starter in Green Bay, Myers brings experience (56 career starts) but little else.

In 2024, Myers ranked 38th out of 40 qualified centers in PFF grade (54.6) and posted a 50.9 run-blocking grade, ranking 36th of 37. That wasn’t an outlier either, as Myers has graded out as a below-average or flat-out bad starter every year of his career.

On paper, this shouldn’t be a battle. It feels more like a reassessment for reassessment’s sake, with a new coaching staff (and front office) evaluating players from scratch. That’s a fair approach in theory, but the process has understandably raised questions.

After all, why is Tippmann competing for his job while others aren’t? Rookie right tackle Armand Membou isn’t battling veteran Chukwuma Okorafor, who has more starts (60) than Myers. Why isn't someone like Xavier Newman competing with John Simpson, who's had exactly one season of NFL success?

For whatever reason, Tippmann is the only core piece of the offensive line forced to “earn it” this summer.

None of this is to say Tippmann is at risk of losing his job. Barring injury or a stunning turn of events, he should be the Week 1 starter. But the process has been curious, and the optics are equally as puzzling. Tippmann’s surprise was understandable.

The Jets’ offensive line has a chance to be a real strength in 2025, especially with improved talent and coaching. But for a team trying to build continuity, stability, and confidence up front, making a foundational player like Tippmann “prove it” again just feels unnecessarily complicated.

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