Joe Tippmann shares his thoughts on bizarre Jets center battle

Joe Tippmann isn’t making a fuss about it publicly. In fact, he’s handling it the way you’d expect a professional to, shrugging off the idea of a supposed center battle with Josh Myers. But let’s be honest: he has every right to be at least a little annoyed.

Tippmann spoke to Jets team reporter Jack Bell this week and framed the situation as a friendly competition between two guys who just happen to share Midwest roots.

"[Josh] Myers is such a great dude. He’s been such a great guy, somebody who’s in the room helping me, I’m helping him… we can go and lay our thoughts on the table and ping-pong off each other."

Joe Tippmann

It’s the right approach to take publicly, but it doesn’t make the situation any less strange. Tippmann is fresh off a sophomore NFL season in which he was arguably a top-10 center in the league.

Myers, meanwhile, was signed to what looked like a clear backup deal after an underwhelming run in Green Bay. The fact that this is even being framed as a legitimate competition is puzzling, to say the least.

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

Tippmann started all 17 games in 2024, played every offensive snap, and quietly established himself as one of the better centers in the league. His 73.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade ranked eighth among all qualified centers, while his 77.3 run-blocking grade was seventh-best.

And he still has room to grow. Tippmann was only in his second season, operating within an offense that lacked creativity and direction under Nathaniel Hackett.

With a new offensive coordinator in Tanner Engstrand and, more importantly, no more Keith Carter, there’s real hope that the run game can improve, the scheme will be modernized, and Tippmann can take another leap forward.

The pieces around him have improved too. Olu Fashanu will enter his second season as the penciled-in starting left tackle. The Jets used the seventh overall pick to select Armand Membou, who will man the right tackle position.

As for Myers, he signed a one-year, $3 million deal this offseason, a contract that clearly suggests he's viewed as a backup. He started all 56 games he played over four years in Green Bay, but the results were consistently underwhelming.

Last year, he earned a 54.6 PFF grade (38th out of 40 qualified centers) and posted a brutal 50.9 run-blocking grade. He has experience, yes, and a prior connection with new quarterback Justin Fields from their days at Ohio State, but none of that should vault him into serious contention for a starting job over a player like Tippmann.

There’s nothing wrong with promoting competition, especially with a new regime trying to reset the culture. But not every starter needs to be put under the microscope. Tippmann was arguably the Jets’ best offensive lineman last season. He shouldn’t have to fight off a low-end starter just to keep his job.

Maybe this is all semantic, a simple message-sending move by the coaching staff instead of a true position battle. And if that’s the case, fine. Tippmann will almost certainly win the job. It’s just... weird.

There’s no real reason this should be a thing, and yet, here we are. To his credit, Tippmann’s taking it in stride. But that doesn’t make the situation any less confusing.

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