The New York Jets had a chance to trade pass rusher Jermaine Johnson at the 2025 NFL trade deadline. They stood pat. Several insiders believe the Jets made a mistake.
“Jermaine, in particular, in retrospect I think we might look at that as a mistake,” Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic responded when asked about the Jets deciding not to trade Johnson.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY called Johnson one of the “most underperforming players on the Jets” this season during an episode of “Jets Final Drive.”
Hughes revealed that the Jets received trade calls and were also initiating trade calls with other teams on Johnson.
“In fact, I know the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had called the Jets about Will McDonald. They were like ‘Well, we can talk about Jermaine Johnson. The Bucs were like No, we want Will McDonald,’” Hughes said on “Jets Final Drive.” “Jermaine could have been dealt for a third-round pick. The Jets wanted a two, but Jermaine could have been dealt for a third-round pick.”
Johnson is under contract through the 2026 season. The former Florida State product is counting $17.5 million against the cap combined in 2025 and 2026.
“I think the guy, maybe there is some second-guessing on, and some regret is Jermaine Johnson. He has not had the kind of year that they expected. They had good offers for him, they wanted to hold onto him, that one I think might be the one that they’re thinking, ‘hmm, we should have taken those offers’”, ESPN’s Rich Cimini explained on the “Flight Deck” podcast.
Jets Could Still Flip Johnson This Offseason
The green and white accepted Johnson’s fifth-year option this past offseason. He will have one year left on his rookie deal through the 2026 campaign.
If the Jets had second thoughts about not flipping him, they could reverse course this offseason.
ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler floated a possible 2026 Johnson trade in a recent column.
“Speaking of the Commanders, it was shocking to me when they didn’t aggressively address pass rusher last offseason. As a result, their sack leader is Dorance Armstrong — who tore his ACL in Week 7 — with 5.5. Plenty of pass rushers should be available in free agency. But Washington could also identify rushers on rookie deals who might want a trade due to inactivity on a contract extension with their current team. The Jaguars’ Travon Walker, Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jets’ Jermaine Johnson are among players on expiring rookie deals who could be 2027 free agents,” Fowler wrote.
The Jets should be able to trade Johnson if they desire to do so in 2026. However, whether or not they can still fetch a third-round pick value is up for debate.
Are We Evaluating Johnson Properly?
Hughes emphatically said that Johnson is one of the biggest underperforming Jets this season. Well, to underperform would mean that Johnson didn’t live up to expectations.
Which begs the question, what were expectations in 2025 anyway?
Johnson blew out his Achilles in Week 2 of the 2024 season. He faced a long and arduous rehab from his injury.
This season, he has appeared in 11 games and has made 10 starts. With those opportunities, Johnson has collected three sacks and five quarterback hits.
Those aren’t great numbers, but in the context that he is coming off a serious injury, it changes the perspective.
Before the Jets pull the trigger on a trade, there are two things they had better think long and hard about.
Was Steve Wilks the problem? The longtime NFL defensive coordinator did a terrible job running the Jets’ defense in 2025. Don’t let a small sample size influence your long-term decision-making. Perhaps in a different scheme, Johnson would perform better.
The second thing is the Achilles. Perhaps Johnson didn’t play up to snuff because he wasn’t fully recovered from his injury. If you think the Jets regret not trading Johnson now. Imagine what the regret level will be if they do trade Johnson this offseason, and he blows it up for another team in 2026.
The Jets would be kicking themselves for selling low on a player who could have been a foundational piece for this team.
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