After undergoing an immense amount of change during the offseason, the New York Jets are attempting to stabilize as a franchise this coming season. It’s been a long time coming for the organization, and head coach Aaron Glenn is expected to right the ship.
Glenn is bringing some new coaching help along with him. Not only that, but he has a new quarterback as the Justin Fields era begins. The preseason has presented many questions pertaining to Fields, and one regarding his personnel remains unanswered.
Who will be the starting center of the 2025-26 Jets? Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton believes that position is New York’s most important battle to resolve before Week 1.
Analyst Dubs Center Battle the ‘Most Important Remaining’ for Jets
Moton says incumbent Joe Tippmann has “been a decent starter” in his first two seasons. With that said, the signing of Josh Myers threw a fork into the former’s plans of assuming a first-string role for his junior NFL campaign.
Pointing to Fields’ prior background with Myers, Moton isn’t ready to declare a winner just yet.
“However, new Jets quarterback Justin Fields has experience taking snaps from Myers, who was his college teammate between 2018 and 2020 at Ohio State,” Moton wrote. “According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Tippman and Myers have split first-team reps at center. We didn’t see the Jets center battle in full swing in Week 1 of the preseason, though. Myers took snaps at the pivot, and Tippmann shifted to left guard in place of John Simpson, who’s dealing with a back injury. This Jets battle seems far from over.”
A training camp injury to guard John Simpson didn’t make the decision easier. For a brief period of time, Tippmann’s positional versatility was put to the test. For instance, he played the left guard spot in the club’s preseason opener versus the Green Bay Packers. Tippmann returned to his normal center spot for Saturday’s loss to the New York Giants, although Pro Football Focus gave him a mixed bag of grades.
Speaking to Nick Faria of Jets X-Factor following the game, Tippmann said he’s “used aspects” of Myers’ game to help his own.
Myers has posted inferior PFF grades to Tippmann in recent seasons. He does deserve credit in this battle, though, given his contract. It may be for just $2 million, but it’s a fully-guaranteed pact. Another $1.5M can be earned through incentives, according to Over The Cap.
Tippmann likely holds the inside edge, as he should. New York has yet to declare a winner, however.
Concerns About New York’s Offense Growing as Preseason Continues
It’s important to remember that preseason results aren’t predictive. Teams, units and individual players can look great in August, only to fall flat on their faces thereafter. On the flip side, those entities can struggle early and put everything together late. It’s all an imperfect science.
Still, you aren’t crazy if you’re worried about the Jets’ passing attack.
Yes, New York has been able to run the ball. Yes, that’s a big deal, especially given a projected featured workload for halfback Breece Hall in a contract year. It’s especially nice given how often Fields runs and how effective he is in that aspect. But at a certain point, going 4-for-9 for just 44 passing yards isn’t anything to write home about. The last two games, as well as training camp before it, haven’t displayed enough high-end production to inspire anyone. The Jets are a sloppy team at the moment.
At the least, New York figures to be a nice rushing offense. Garrett Wilson makes for one viable pass catcher on the roster. Josh Reynolds is a nice complementary piece, as is rookie tight end Mason Taylor. Is that enough to overcome a lack of star power elsewhere?
Thus far, it’s hard to answer with a resounding “yes.” One step that could inadvertently impact the rest of the offense is deciding on who will snap the ball to Fields.
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