The New York Jets have suffered through the worst first season of a new head coach in franchise history. No other coach had gone 0-6 to begin their tenure until Aaron Glenn’s unit accomplished that dubious feat last week.
Still searching for their first win, New York appears closer to selling assets by the time the NFL trade deadline rolls around at the beginning of November.
At least, that is what many analysts and fans initially thought. The Jets aren’t close to competing for a playoff spot at this point, so it would make sense for the team to ship assets off for future draft capital.
But that may not be the case—at least according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Jets Deadline Report
In her weekly Saturday news breakdown based on what she had been hearing around the league, the longtime league reporter stated that the Jets were getting trade calls on two specific players.
The caveat? The team was also looking for potential kick returners.
“The Jets are already getting calls on linebacker Jermaine Johnson and running back Breece Hall,” Russini wrote. “They are making calls looking for a kick returner.”
New York’s primary kick returner is Kene Nwangwu—a former NFL All-Pro at the position whose career has been hampered by injuries.
After missing four games during the regular season this year, Nwangwu came back to record three returns for 113 total yards. He averaged 37.7 yards per return, with his longest of the day being a 72-yarder. He flipped the field numerous times last week against Denver.
Despite the strong play when healthy, the Jets have seen inconsistent results from the return game all year. Two fumbles from now-Philadelphia Eagles’ return man Xavier Gipson, and one from Isaiah Williams, have directly impacted the team’s chances to win on Sundays.
Nwangwu is healthy now, though.
Should that mean Russini’s report comes as a surprise for the 0-6 Jets?
Buyers or Sellers?
Under no circumstances should the Jets even think about adding talent during the 2025 deadline. The team is not good enough right now to make the playoffs, so the only logical step for them would be to sell assets to improve their 2026 NFL draft odds and beyond.
This should hold firm even if that means saying goodbye to several fan favorites like Hall or even linebacker Quincy Williams, who should return soon from his shoulder injury.
No one can deny that Russini is plugged into the Jets. That being said, it is perplexing why anyone would think the team would be willing to give away assets in the 2026 draft for a season that is clearly not going anywhere in 2025.
New York would essentially be giving away needed assets the following season for a fix to a problem in the immediate term—a problem the franchise has seemingly already solved.
Anything can certainly happen in the coming weeks, but it would be beyond foolish for the New York Jets to try to add a returner at this point in the season with a good one already on the roster.
