At first glance, the New York Jets linebacker room has quickly gone from one of the team’s strongest positions to one of its weakest.

With the organization placing both Quincy Williams and Marcelino McCrary-Ball on injured reserve for the next four weeks, New York has suddenly become very thin at the linebacker position.

In response to the injury designations, New York signed Mark Robinson off the New England Patriots’ practice squad and also brought in Ben Niemann to the practice squad. As things stand right now, the Jets are surrounding current starter Jamien Sherwood with the following players:

  • Francisco Mauigoa
  • Cam Jones
  • Mark Robinson.

It’s not exactly a group that inspires confidence.

But as bad as it looks now, the Jets may not need to worry too much about the position group – for three reasons.

Linebacker value

Simply put, the linebacker position isn’t as important in the NFL as it once was. It is the lowest-paid defensive position for a reason. New York must remember that as it tries to find replacements for Williams and McCrary-Ball.

It should also be noted that neither player was performing well, anyway.

Williams tied for the most missed tackles in New York’s latest loss with three, and has shown signs of looking lost in coverage. That problem seemed to have gotten worse and worse by the week.

This isn’t to say that Mauigoa is better than Williams. Far from it. But with Williams having a down year to start 2025 and the position already considered a low-value role, his short-term injury is unlikely to cause major issues for the Jets moving forward.

Jamien Sherwood

It is true that Sherwood has not played up to the new contract he received back in March. The young linebacker has struggled to kick off the 2025 season as he’s learning a new defensive scheme under Aaron Glenn and Steve Wilks.

For a player with as much upside as Sherwood, though, chances are he’ll play a lot better as the season goes on, and the more he masters the current playbook.

Remember, Sherwood is still just 25 years old, and he is replacing the leadership role of one of the most cerebral linebackers of the modern era in C.J. Mosley. He may be struggling now, but he has plenty of room to progress as the season develops.

Bigger fish to fry

There are simply bigger problems for the Jets’ defense to deal with. They have edge rushers who cannot play the run or get to the passer consistently enough, and a secondary that is among the worst in the NFL.

As important as the linebacker position can seem, having a weakness at that position just isn’t as damaging as having a weak cornerback or edge rusher.

Jet fans should be more focused on the concerning secondary that seems to get worse by the week, or the edge group that is playing Micheal Clemons as a starter.

Many things have gone bad for the Jets to start the season. While the linebacker position is certainly one of them, it isn’t the reason why the organization is 0-3, and it is not a reason to be pessimistic about the team’s chances of turning things around.