The New York Jets finished the 2024 season with a horrendous 5-12 record (good for third place in the AFC East). They fired head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas before the year even ended despite getting four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers back under center after a torn Achilles.
Now, with new general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn leading things in New York, the team will have several decisions to make this offseason, including which of their own pending free agents they want to keep around for 2025 and beyond.
One of the most important Jets set to hit the market in the next month is cornerback D.J. Reed, and Pro Football Network has already predicted that the 28-year-old will land with the division-rival New England Patriots.
Reed walked on at Fresno State (2014) before transferring to Cerritos College (2015) and Kansas State (2016-17), where he earned All-Big 12 honors in his two seasons. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft, but they waived him after two seasons.
The Seattle Seahawks claimed Reed off waivers at the start of the 2020 season, and he eventually took over as a starting cornerback before signing a three-year deal with the Jets in 2022.
Over the last three seasons, Reed appeared in 46 games and recorded 220 tackles, 32 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. In 2024, he played 72.1% of the team’s defensive snaps in his 14 games active.
In New England, Reed could be paired with All-Pro Christian Gonzalez to create one of the best duos in the league. That’s not ideal for the Jets, who will have to face them twice a year.
Keeping Reed in New York is projected to cost $59 million (per Spotrac), and with the Jets expected to have $11 million in cap space this offseason, they should be able to move money around to make things work to bring him back. It’s worth it to keep Reed paired with Sauce Gardner, and even more so to keep away from New England.
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