The losses are stockpiling in Florham Park once again, and frustration is mounting in the locker room.

After the Jets’ 38-33 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick took a jab at the losing tendencies of his new franchise.

“Some bad penalties, bad mistakes, Jets being Jets,” Fitzpatrick said, citing the reasons for the loss.

Fitzpatrick is familiar with the Jets’ longstanding woes. He had a 5-2 record against them across seven games with the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, picking up a pair of takeaways. The three-time first-team All-Pro also went to high school in Jersey City, just nine miles south of MetLife Stadium.

JET XFront Office
2027 OFFSEASON · OCT 27

What’s your first offseason move?

Opening roster · Choose one move

Effective cap$78.58MStarting snapshot
Roster41Starting snapshot
2027 picks9Starting snapshot
Choose one to see the results.

The thinking behind the decision

Set the direction.
Own the decision.

Start with an in-house decision. Keep the roster intact, bring Geno Smith back, or move on from one of the listed veterans. Each choice changes the same opening snapshot; choices do not stack inside this poll.

Re-signing Smith requires a new contract. A release creates dead money, and a trade needs another club to agree. The offers here are prepared scenarios, not reports or guaranteed outcomes.

October 27 draft-order update: $97.13M projected total cap room minus $18.56M net draft reserve = $78.58M effective room; 41 signed players and 9 picks. Financial inputs remain the October 24 reviewed 2027 projections. Unreported contract terms are not invented.

It’s not a good sign for the Jets that one of their team captains is resorting to the franchise’s historical reputation as an excuse for the team’s recent struggles. The past is the past; Fitzpatrick is a Jet today, and he shares in their present-day follies.

Fitzpatrick’s unit was one of the main culprits for New York’s loss to the Raiders, who entered the cross-country road trip with a four-game losing streak. The back end of the Jets’ defense had no answer for Las Vegas tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, who combined to catch 12 of 16 targets for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Not all of those catches were allowed by Fitzpatrick, but he participated in his fair share of coverage busts, and as the unit’s captain and veteran leader, the spotlight comes back to him. The Jets need their leaders to take accountability in these moments, rather than analyze the team’s struggles with a phrase that a WFAN caller would use.