5 NY Jets players who likely played their final game with the team

The NY Jets' season officially came to an end on Sunday following the team's sluggish 11-6 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but in reality, it feels like it ended a while ago.

Six straight losses to finish the year will be what many remember from this Jets season. The good vibes from the team's 7-4 start have all but disappeared.

Many of the players on this Jets roster will have an opportunity to avenge their late-season collapse next season. However, for others, Sunday was their final game as a member of this organization.

Which players have played their last game with the Jets? We take a look at five potential candidates.

5. Corey Davis, WR, NY Jets

Corey Davis has a role in this Jets' offense and he's done some good things for the team over the last two years, but as a whole, it's hard not to look at the Davis signing as anything other than a disappointment.

The Jets signed Davis to a three-year, $37.5 million contract prior to the 2021 season hoping that he could provide a sense of stability to the team's receiving corps. Unfortunately, he hasn't really been able to do that.

Davis has played just 22 of a possible 34 games in two years with the Jets and dealt with his fair share of drop issues. He's averaged just 33 catches per season during his time with the Jets and failed to find much of a role this year.

Davis' value as a run blocker shouldn't be overlooked, but with an $11.17 million cap hit in 2023, the Jets aren't likely to bring him back at that price point. We could see a Jamison Crowder situation where the Jets force Davis to take a pay cut.

If not, expect the team to move on this offseason. Either way, he won't be back at his current price point.

4. Quincy Williams, LB, NY Jets

Quincy Williams has moments of brilliance that provide a glimpse of the player he could be. Unfortunately, those flashes are mixed in with bone-headed mistakes that leave you scratching your head.

That's the Quincy Williams experience. While Williams became a bit more consistent in his second year with Gang Green, his issues still pop up too frequently.

Williams often finds himself overrunning plays. He lacks gap discipline which leads to big runs. His eyes tend to lock in on the backfield which causes him to ignore his coverage assignment from time to time.

Williams is a fun player who seems to find a way to secure at least one big hit per game. His highlight reel is full of hit sticks and run fills that would make you think he's an All-Pro linebacker. But his lack of consistency is what holds him and this Jets' defense back.

The Jets need to find a way to upgrade at linebacker this offseason. C.J. Mosley's contract means that he will almost certainly be back, but Williams and Kwon Alexander are both pending free agents.

Williams will likely have offers from other teams and the Jets should find a way to add a more consistent piece to their linebacker puzzle. Alexander showed enough to be brought back on a team-friendly deal, but in the case of Williams, it's probably best to move on.

From an emotional standpoint, it won't be easy to split up the Williams brothers, especially seeing how well-liked the elder Williams is in the locker room. But the NFL is a business at the end of the day.

It seems like there's a good chance Quincy Williams has played his last game with the Jets.

3. Lamarcus Joyner, S, NY Jets

Lamarcus Joyner didn't play for the Jets in Week 18 as he sat out with a hip injury, so in his case, Joyner's swan song with the Jets almost certainly came in the team's Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Simply put, Joyner was the weakest link in the Jets' defense this season. The Jets brought him back this offseason with the hope that he can provide the team with a cheap and dependable starting free safety option.

Unfortunately, Joyner just wasn't a starting-caliber player for much of the year. Joyner's 57.0 Pro Football Focus grade ranked 72nd out of 89 qualified safeties while his abysmal 53.4 PFF coverage grade ranked 71st out of 86 qualifiers.

While the Jets' cornerback duo of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed was likely the best in football, their safety tandem of Joyner and Jordan Whitehead left a lot to be desired.

There's a chance that the Jets opt to move on from Whitehead as well. The 25-year-old had an underwhelming first season with the team and the Jets could save nearly $8 million by releasing him.

Either way, Joyner is most certainly gone. He's set to be a free agent again at the end of the season and it wouldn't make much sense for the Jets to bring him back.

Move on and look for an upgrade this offseason. This one should pretty much be a formality.

2. George Fant, OT, NY Jets

Much like Joyner, George Fant also didn't play in the Jets' season finale against the Dolphins on Sunday. And also much like Joyner, he likely won't be back with the team next season.

Fant was a revelation for the Jets in 2021 as he transformed from a fringe starting swing tackle into legitimately one of the best pass-blocking left tackles in the NFL.

There were talks about the Jets extending Fant in the offseason even as he competed with Mekhi Becton for the starting left tackle job. Unfortunately, Fant's 2022 season was derailed by injuries.

The veteran tackle underwent offseason knee surgery and never quite seemed to recover. He struggled through the first three games of the season before landing on the injured reserve due to that same knee injury.

Fant returned in Week 13 and played right tackle for the remainder of the season (until Week 18), but he clearly wasn't 100 percent. It wasn't a surprise when the Jets placed him on the IR again ahead of Week 18.

Unfortunately for Fant, he never managed to receive the extension he was looking for. Combine that with the constant position switching and the nagging knee injury, and 2022 was surely a frustrating season for the seven-year NFL veteran.

Fant is set to be a free agent at the end of the season, and while the Jets will likely be making some offensive line changes, don't expect him to be brought back.

Mekhi Becton, Duane Brown, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Max Mitchell are all under contract next season and the Jets will very likely make at least one addition at the position.

At least we'll always have that outstanding 2021 season.

1. Braden Mann, P, NY Jets

The Jets need a new punter. In reality, Braden Mann has been an issue for the Jets for some time now, but it's become abundantly clear this season. He's just not consistent enough.

Braden Mann will finish the season ranked 28th in net yards per punt (40.5), ranked ninth-worst in percentage of punts pinned inside the 20-yard line (29.5%), and fourth-worst in total touchbacks with eight.

Despite the Jets possessing two excellent gunners in Justin Hardee and Brandin Echols, Mann ranked fourth-worst in the NFL in return yards conceded. He's a below-average punter and someone the Jets should look to move on from.

The Jets had their opportunity last offseason when Mann was injured. They signed former Pro Bowl punter Thomas Morstead, only to cut him once Mann returned.

Morstead ranks sixth-best in percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line and had just two touchbacks all year. He remains one of the better punters in the NFL.

Mann is still under contract for 2023 and will be making just $1 million, but the Jets need to find a way to upgrade this offseason. At the very least, they need to bring in legitimate competition.

The Jets' special teams, as a whole, wasn't bad in 2022, but Mann's inconsistencies caused his team to lose the field position battle far too often. An upgrade shouldn't be too hard to find.

The Jets can do better than Braden Mann. Sunday's game should be his last with the organization that drafted him.