Are the stars aligning for the 2026 New York Jets?

Well, it’s a little early to make that sort of declaration, but one thing is for certain: The first quarter of their schedule has significantly softened up before the season has even kicked off.

On Sunday afternoon, the Jets learned that their Week 2 opponents, the Green Bay Packers, will be without Micah Parsons (PUP list, ACL), while they will also most likely be without running back Josh Jacobs (commissioner’s exempt list).

Now, the Jets have learned that yet another NFC North opponent on their early-season schedule will be severely depleted.

According to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Lions will be placing star safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph on the PUP list to begin the season, which means both players will miss at least the first four games.

The Jets will visit Detroit in Week 3, meaning they will catch the Lions without Joseph, a 2024 first-team All-Pro, and Branch, a 2024 Pro Bowler.

Branch is recovering from a torn Achilles suffered last December. Joseph is still dealing with a knee injury that hampered him throughout last season.

The Lions’ defense struggled across a four-game stretch without both Branch and Joseph to close the 2025 season. From Weeks 15-18, with both safeties sidelined, Detroit went 1-3, while allowing 27.3 points per game.

With Branch and Joseph out, the Lions’ starting safeties to begin the season are expected to be Avonte Maddox and former Jets starter Chuck Clark, who logged 12 starts for New York in the 2024 season.

Clark, 31, allowed a 138.2 passer rating on throws into his coverage across 15 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, per PFF. Maddox, 30, yielded a 108.3 passer rating over 14 games (3 starts) as a backup for the Lions.

Geno Smith and the Jets are poised to draw a favorable matchup in Week 3. There is still a long way to go before Sept. 27, though. By then, we should have a good idea of whether the Jets’ new-look offense is capable of squeezing enough out of that mismatch to keep pace in a road game against a high-octane Lions offense.