Finding silver linings in the New York Jets’ 2023 season

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:

1. Consider redemption: Look hard enough and you can discover bright spots in the darkest seasons. Despite four straight seasons with double-digit losses, the Jets (6-10) can take solace in knowing that two of their core players — running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson — are buying stock for the future of the team.

“I'm just going to tell everyone to laugh right now because it's not going to be like that in the near future,” Hall said after Thursday night's 37-20 loss to the Cleveland Browns. “We're going to be a lot better. I can't wait to see what we do.”

Wilson, after watching the Browns celebrate their playoff victory, said, “I'm convinced my turn is coming, our turn is coming.”

With that, a few glimmers of hope:

• They will enter the offseason with a proven QB1: This may not seem like a big deal, but it is for the Jets. Aaron Rodgers, assuming he's healthy for 2024, solidifies the top position. A year ago at this time, the Jets — finished with Zach Wilson as their starter — were in their own dark retirement when it came to the position.

• Hall has played every game – and he’s improving: You never know how skill position players will bounce back after ACL surgery. Hall got off to a fast start, hit a mid-season lull and bounced back with a strong final month. He's rushed for 179 yards over the last two games, and because of his receiving prowess, he's averaging 87 yards from scrimmage per game for the season, seventh among running backs.
  The fact that he hasn't missed a single game due to a serious injury speaks volumes. He can now focus his offseason on getting back to normal fitness, not rehab, which should make him even better in 2024. “I worked hard this offseason to get back,” Hall said. “I expect to be one of the best in the league and I haven’t really been able to show that all season.”

• Wilson proved his rookie year was real: He became the first Jets player since Keyshawn Johnson (1998-1999) to record consecutive 1,000 receiving yard seasons – which is pretty impressive, considering the quarterback changes and the overall state of the team. 'offensive. With Wilson and Hall, the Jets have two key pieces for Rodgers.

• Jermaine Johnson joined the party: No longer overshadowed by Hall, Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner — his 2022 draft classmates — Johnson is arguably the team's most improved player. The defensive end (6.5 sacks, one pick-six) is “vastly underrated,” according to coach Robert Saleh, who thinks Johnson is playing at a Pro Bowl level. He and Quinnen Williams can anchor the defensive line for a few years.

• The defense is formidable: Yes, Thursday evening was a mess. Yes, the defense is down slightly from last season, statistically, but it remains one of the best units in the league (seventh in yards per game). One area for improvement: Takeout is up sharply compared to 2022 (16 to 25). With nine of the 11 starters under contract for 2024, there is every reason to believe they can continue this momentum.

2. Oh, these flags: One of Saleh's offseason goals has to be the penalty issue. The Jets lead the league with 148, including a league-high 77 on offense. It's not a one-year thing. In Saleh's three seasons, the Jets had the third-most penalties (379). You can see the frustration on Garrett Wilson's face. “It’s not clean enough,” he said.

3. Did you know? The Jets are 0-4 in short weeks, having been outscored 117-55. They better find a way to resolve the issue because, with Rodgers returning next season, they will likely be treated to a handful of prime-time games. Saleh lamented the problem, saying he experimented with three different training programs in hopes of finding the right formula. This is another thing to think about during the offseason.

4. Picky: This is one of the big anomalies of the season: Sauce Gardner is having another very good year in coverage, but he has yet to intercept a pass despite having played 948 defensive snaps. Making the situation even more confusing is the fact that the Jets are a zone-based defense, which allows defenders to keep their eyes on the quarterback.

Part of the reason is that Gardner (56 targets) doesn't get much criticism. Among the 25 cornerbacks with a minimum of 400 coverage snaps, he is tied with Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears for the fewest targets, according to Next Gen Stats' “closest defender” metrics. On the other hand, there is Derek Stingley Jr. of the Houston Texans. He has been targeted 36 times, but has five interceptions.

Saleh said Gardner “will be the first to say that when they throw him the ball … he's got to go get it.” Saleh compared Gardner to one of his former players, Richard Sherman. That's quite a compliment, but it's worth noting that Sherman — in a similar system — had 12 interceptions in his first two seasons. Gardner has two.

Before Saturday night's game, Gardner was among seven cornerbacks with more than 800 snaps on defense and no interceptions, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Over the past three seasons, one corner has reached the 1,000 mark without a single pick: Jets' Bryce Hall (1,126) in 2021.

5. Current winds: The Jets, who currently sit at No. 8 in the draft, have just a 1.5 percent chance of making the top five, according to ESPN analytics. Many experts believe the top two tackles, Joe Alt (Notre Dame) and Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Penn State), will be in the top five. Offensive tackle is the Jets' biggest need, especially with most of the roster (including Mekhi Becton) heading to free agency.

6. Cooked: Remember back in August when Dalvin Cook predicted that he and Hall would be the best running back tandem in the league? Talk about unmet expectations. Cook (career-low 214 rushing yards) is gone, with five snaps played in the last two games, including a “DNP” on Thursday night. It was a first in a career. Everything suggests that he has remained a good teammate, but he is incredibly frustrated.

“I haven't played professional football, but being in this business, you know when a player is suffering and I know he is suffering,” Saleh said. “But his story is not over.”

7. Can't avoid this one: With the arrival of Rodgers last offseason, the Jets took a comprehensive approach to everything, including contract renegotiations. And soon it will be time to pay the bills.

When restructuring contracts to create immediate salary cap space, the Jets added “dummy” years – a mechanism that allows teams to prorate initial money over the life of the contract. They did so with two players whose contracts were expiring, defensive end Carl Lawson and safety Jordan Whitehead.

The downside is that instead of coming off the books in 2024, Lawson ($6.3 million) and Whitehead ($3.3 million) will count against the cap because they had blank years added to their transactions. The Jets did the same thing with tight end CJ Uzomah, who is signed through 2024. Likely a victim of the cap, his dead charge in '24 rose to $5.9 million due to the extra void years. Left tackle Duane Brown will be a free agent, but he will count for $4.7 million because his 2022 contract was loaded with fantasy years.

In absentia, these four players will count $20.2 million against the 24 cap, assuming Uzomah is released.

8. Last chance? The Jets, losing 15 straight to the New England Patriots, hope to end the drought in what could be Bill Belichick's final game as coach. This is the longest active faceoff streak in the NFL.

9. Weapons everywhere: For a team that has struggled so much with quarterback play over the years, the Jets certainly have a lot of castoffs that have resurfaced among contenders and playoff-bound teams.

Entries: Joe Flacco (Cleveland Browns) and Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks). Backups: Sam Darnold (San Francisco 49ers), Josh Johnson (Baltimore Ravens) and Mike White (Miami Dolphins). Let's not forget replacements Teddy Bridgewater (Detroit Lions) and John Wolford (Tampa Bay Buccaneers); they never played in the regular season for the Jets, but they were on the preseason roster.

10. The last word: Naturally, they wanted to beat Flacco, but the Jets seemed genuinely happy that he found late-career success in Cleveland. This illustrates how much they respected him as a teammate.