Jets cornerback D.J. Reed is a quality defender in the midst of a strong season who plays on a 3-6 club and who is on an expiring contract. He has also made it plain that he intends to test free agency in March, all of which makes him an obvious trade candidate.
[RELATED: Jets Will Not Trade WR Garrett Wilson]
New York has indeed received trade inquiries on Reed, but the team is not expected to move the Kansas State product, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required). With the soon-to-be 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and having already made a buyers’ trade for wide receiver Davante Adams, it stands to reason that the Jets would not make any sellers’ moves in advance of Tuesday’s trade deadline, despite their poor record.
GM Joe Douglas is also out of contract at season’s end, and while it appears he will finish out the year in his post, he obviously has plenty of incentive to retain the best players on the roster rather than ship them off for future draft picks. Though Rich Cimini of ESPN.com does not believe Douglas will make another splashy acquisition over the next several days, he does confirm that the Jets will not be sellers.
Douglas’ big misstep during his New York tenure was his decision to make quarterback Zach Wilson the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 draft, but the Jets’ top exec does have some highlights on his resume. That includes signing Reed to a three-year, $33MM contract in March 2022, a deal that has yielded considerable return on investment.
Per Pro Football Focus’ metrics, Reed graded out as the 23rd-best corner out of 118 qualified players in his first year with the Jets, and PFF considered him the 16th-best CB out of 127 qualifiers last year. In 2024, he has taken his play to another level, with an excellent 81.8 PFF grade that represents the fourth-highest mark among 110 qualified cornerbacks. He has also surrendered an exceedingly low 57.7 QB rating, and his eight passes defensed put him on pace to set a new career-high in that category.
Reed’s platform-year performance has set him up nicely for another lucrative payday in the upcoming offseason. Whether that comes from the Jets – who may be under different leadership in 2025 and who will need to consider an extension for fellow boundary defender Sauce Gardner – remains to be seen. For now, though, Reed will try to help his current club make a postseason run.
Let’s be real here, the Reed signing has everything to do with who the coach was and not Douglas.
Douglas has made some solid picks, but the one that counts the most is the one he fumbled – Wilson. And not to mention moving Darnold who never had a fair chance to begin with. Need to get the QB position right in order to make things click. This is where he failed, including Rodgers.
1st half of the comment, so what?
The 2nd half of this comment isnt relevant to DJ Reed. Also, Darnold not having a “fair chance” is a take lol Just because he wound up on a good team 4 years later doesnt mean he himself is good or that Jets needed to hold on to him forever. He barely made it past a bad Colts team throwing 2INTs while on the same team as Justin Jefferson lets relax a lil
Smart move! Head into a rebuild without a stockpile of draft picks! This team NEVER learns!
Theyre clearly in win now mode and not a rebuild. The AFC is a weird conference and they still have an outside shot of snagging a WC spot, it would actually be dumb to just punt the season away this early
Except they’re not winning. They’re 3-6 and not a good team at all
they just beat a 6-2 team and would be 6-3 if Greg simply made kicks in normal range but ok
But they’re not 6-3, they’re 3-6 and they lost to the Patriots
Ok. The point I made was that theyre a better team than what their record indicates and that means something with how weak the rest of the AFC has been. This record in the NFC wouldnt have a chance, in the AFC theyre not far off at all
Would be an awfully quiet clubhouse without a DJ !