In 2025, New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey did an excellent job of finding value on the margins.
Around cutdown day, Mougey acquired defensive tackles Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips in exchange for late-round draft capital.
Both players went on to play significant roles for the team. Phillips established himself a team leader and a quality run-stuffer, while Briggs finished the season as one of the league’s top pass-rushing defensive tackles.
Mougey also worked the other side of the market, sending Derrick Nnadi, who wasn’t expected to make the Jets’ roster after a rough summer, back to the Kansas City Chiefs for conditional late-round compensation.
A year later, the Jets should be looking to take a similar approach once cutdown day approaches.
Here are two roster-bubble players New York can potentially trade rather than lose for nothing on waivers.
WR Jamaal Pritchett
Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett was a star for the Jets last preseason.
The South Alabama product forced six missed tackles on offense, tied with Efton Chism III of the New England Patriots for the most among receivers.
Pritchett also shone on special teams, returning nine punts for 103 yards (11.4 yards per return). As a 5-foot-8, 175-pound receiver, special teams production is almost necessary, and Pritchett displayed it throughout camp and the preseason.
His efforts, though, weren’t good enough to earn a spot on the Jets’ 53-man roster. In a surprising decision, Pritchett was passed over in favor of Xavier Gipson, who was cut after Week 1, when his costly special teams fumble played an integral role in the team’s loss.
However, that still didn’t yield Pritchett a promotion. The team instead picked up Isaiah Williams, who struggled early on, got cut, returned to the team’s 53-man roster, and finished the year as one of the league’s top returners, winning the team’s MVP award.
The team decided to bring Pritchett back, though, signing him to a futures deal in January. Now, he is competing for a spot on the team’s 53-man roster for the second year in a row.
Barring a stunning sequence of events, it is unlikely that he will crack the team’s final squad due to how solidified the Jets are at returner with Kene Nwangwu and Isaiah Williams.
However, that doesn’t mean the Jets will be forced to move on from Pritchett without getting anything in return. With another preseason showing like last year’s, the Jets can potentially shop him for some late-round draft compensation.
It wouldn’t be the first time in recent years that the organization traded an undersized returner who starred in the preseason. In 2024, they traded Brandon Codrington and a seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a sixth-round pick. That sixth-rounder was later used to trade for Geno Smith.
If Pritchett replicates his preseason success from last year, he could hold some trade value.
S Andre Cisco
When Andre Cisco re-signed with the Jets in the offseason, many folks were surprised.
It was after the first wave of free agency, and many expected Cisco and the Jets to part ways this offseason after a rocky 2025 season with the organization. The team had already signed Dane Belton and traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick to complement Malachi Moore in the safety room.
When he was signed last offseason, the Jets were taking a bet on Cisco’s upside as a ball hawk, an element of his game that he flashed from 2022-23 with the Jacksonville Jaguars (seven interceptions over that span) before stepping back in 2024 (one interception).
Given how weak the Jets’ safety room was, though, he was slotted in as one of their starters at the position. He struggled to live up to those expectations with a rough eight-game stretch to begin the season before a pectoral injury shut him down for the year.
Now, after the organization revamped its safety room this offseason, he is expected to play a much different role. He has been competing against Belton and Moore in training camp, but could end up landing at the back end of the depth chart.
Hence his placement on this list; there is a possibility he doesn’t make the team’s roster. While VJ Payne’s injury certainly helps his chances, he isn’t particularly a lock.
The Jets’ first unofficial depth chart didn’t give away any potential hints either, listing him, Belton, and Moore as the team’s No. 2 safeties behind Minkah Fitzpatrick.
If Cisco’s preseason isn’t up to snuff, the Jets could certainly look to move on. If he is traded, the Jets would take on a dead money hit of just $500K while saving $1.73 million in cap space.
Cisco is another player who could have some level of trade value. While his performance has been erratic, he has started 52 games at safety over the last four years. There may be teams that could view him as an upgrade to their second-string unit, or even as a starter if injuries pile up. Keep in mind, the Jets were able to get something in exchange for Irv Charles, a special teamer.
Given that, it is probable that Darren Mougey could get something back (if he wanted to) for a 26-year-old with eight career interceptions and plenty of starting experience.
