The Jets are going all-in on not going all-in and it might actually work

The New York Jets have tried going all-in. Twice, really. First came the trade for Aaron Rodgers, the four-time MVP who was brought in to save the franchise despite entering the twilight of his career.

Then came the overcorrection after his injury. The Jets brought in even more veterans as desperate patchwork moves to salvage what had become a broken plan. They ultimately paid the price for it. The roster aged quickly, the losses piled up, and the entire regime was swiftly kicked to the curb.

Now, under new general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn, the Jets are trying something a bit different. They're not chasing big names. They're not clinging to a window that doesn’t exist.

Instead, they’re leaning fully into youth, patience, and long-term development. They're not going all-in on a closed Super Bowl window. They're going all-in on not going all-in.

The NY Jets have one of the NFL's youngest rosters

According to a study conducted by NFL contract analyst Texans Cap, the Jets enter the 2025 season with the second-youngest roster in the NFL, with an average age of just 25.5 years. Only the Packers are younger.

Gone are the big names and aging veterans who headlined the past two years. Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Haason Reddick, Mike Williams, Tyron Smith, and Dalvin Cook, all brought in to accelerate the team’s timeline, are all ultimately gone with nothing to show for it.

The team also moved on from special teams staples Thomas Morstead and Greg Zuerlein. Of the four kickers/punters currently on the Jets' roster, none of them has ever appeared in an NFL game.

In fact, just three players on the Jets’ entire roster are 30 or older: backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, long snapper Thomas Hennessy, and wide receiver Josh Reynolds, the only 30-something they added this offseason.

That’s a far cry from last year’s version of the team, which featured one of the oldest rosters in the NFL. This version of the Jets is different. Not just younger, but also less experienced at the top.

Darren Mougey, hired as general manager in January, just turned 40. Aaron Glenn is a first-time head coach. Tanner Engstrand is in his first year as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level. There’s inexperience at nearly every level of the operation.

Whether it works is still to be seen. But for the first time in a while, the Jets aren’t selling a shortcut to success. They’re building something — slowly, deliberately, and yes, a little differently. Welcome to a new era of Jets football.

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