4 nightmare scenarios for NY Jets in 2024

4. The Haason Reddick situation and other defensive end decisions blow up in the NY Jets' face

The Jets, by most accounts, have had an outstanding offseason. Many of their signings and draft picks have earned rave reviews. There are, however, a few head-scratching moves that all revolve around the defensive end position.

The first is actually a couple of moves that are linked together. The decision to let Bryce Huff walk in free agency is what led to the Haason Reddick trade. The Jets essentially swapped Huff and a third-round pick for Reddick. While Reddick is the better all-around player, the value there is questionable.

The Jets' mismanagement of a possible Bryce Huff extension and the contract he received from the Philadelphia Eagles make the move even more questionable, and that's before factoring in the Haason Reddick contract drama.

The second head-scratching move is the John Franklin-Myers trade where the Jets gave him away to the Denver Broncos for a 2026 sixth-round pick, essentially nothing. The Jets didn't need to trade Franklin-Myers to free up cap space, as there were plenty of avenues to make everyone's salaries work.

The third is the defensive tackle moves behind Quinnen Williams. Javon Kinlaw has Robert Saleh ties, but is he at $7.5 million a better deal than Quinton Jefferson at $4 million, nearly half the price? Is Leki Fotu, a player whose role will be that of a run stuffer who's failed up to this point to be an above-average run stuffer, a wise addition?

All of this could result in a combination nightmare scenario for the Jets. The first part is the moves don't work out and the vaunted defensive line falters causing a trickle-down effect of poor performance throughout the defense.

The second is, with the Jets eventually needing to cave to Reddick's demands, a rift forming in the locker room as the young foundational pieces watched a homegrown talent let go in favor of paying a mercenary chasing a ring. That can cause some players due for extensions soon to wonder "what if" and could damage morale across the team.

Put both together and you get poor performance from key players, finger-pointing and bickering, and the possibility of a team quitting on a lame-duck coaching staff and general manager. That would truly be a catastrophic nightmare for a team that must produce results in 2024.