If it wasn’t already clear before, the New York Jets are building a specific kind of football team under head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey.
This team is building its roster not through high-priced talent or big-name stars, but through young and high-ceiling individuals. Gone are aging veterans like Aaron Rodgers, C.J. Mosley, or Davante Adams.
New York is getting younger. And the latest moves all but confirm that.
Jets Continue Youth Movement
At the start of the week, the Jets had just six players on their roster over the age of 30. That number dropped to five with the surprising release of fan favorite punter Thomas Morstead.
The release of Morstead disappointed many fans, but there were a couple of reasons (outside the fact he was 39 years old) that pushed New York into this line of action.
First, Morstead was owed over $3 million by the Jets this season. With his release, New York saved around $2.5 million – a small but significant amount if the Jets want to allocate that money to long-term extensions elsewhere.
At the end of the day, though, this is about the youth movement. Under Glenn’s leadership, the Jets have focused on adding young but improving players to their roster.
Justin Fields (26) replaced the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers. Mason Taylor (21) is expected to compete to replace Tyler Conklin. All across the roster, examples like this can be found.
It’s also a strategy that has worked before in NFL history.
“It’s a young man’s game,” Glenn said during league meetings in March. “I was always taught that you can’t be afraid of the young player, so … we’re able to mold these guys into who you want them to be and what type of team you want to be.
“Me and (Jets GM Darren Mougey) did a really good job of trying to create that. I think every situation that we wanted to create when it comes to free agency, we hit, as far as getting the quarterback that we wanted, getting the quarterback of the defense, trying to make this team younger.”
Of course, there’s another reason why the Jets have decided to run with a youth movement this season as well.
Past Failings
Over the last few seasons, the top teams in the NFL have been getting younger across the board. Teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and even the Buffalo Bills have shed off aging veterans for cheaper and younger options.
During that same time, the Jets went in a different direction. The previous regime felt that the organization should attack the offseason and acquire aging veterans to outsmart that youth around the league.
Rodgers, Adams, Mosley, and even Tyron Smith are examples of the Jets choosing to go with the veteran path to end their postseason drought.
That blew up in their face.
There’s no need to double down anymore. The veteran push failed. The best way forward for New York is to see what younger players can do in these very spots with improved coaching.
And that is precisely the plan moving forward.