On a day the Jets pressed reset on the franchise by trading away a pair of foundational players for three first-round picks, a second-round pick, defensive tackle Mazi Smith, and receiver AD Mitchell, it’s worth remembering that the team continues to be owned by Robert Wood Johnson IV.
Two weeks ago, owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized quarterback Justin Fields. It was a stunning display, especially since his comments were made with nonchalance and in cold blood. As one source familiar with comments Johnson has made privately said at the time, “You should see what he says when the mic is off.”
Enter former Jets quarterback Jordan Travis. Two years ago, he was on the short list of Heisman Trophy candidates. On November 18, 2023, he suffered a serious leg injury.
The Jets nevertheless made Travis a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft, taking a flier on the possibility of Travis fully recovering and becoming the player he seemed destined to be. It didn’t work out. He retired from football in April 2025.
Last week, on the Travis Takes Two podcast, Jordan Travis talked about the things Johnson had said during Travis’s time with the team.
“I gotta tell you, that guy, no disrespect, but there were things said to me, not obviously to that point because I never got on the field to play, but about my leg,” Travis said. “Like, just slick comments, I don’t know if he was trying to be slick about it. You know how some older people, they just say whatever comes to their mind, and it kind of made me feel a certain type of way.
“‘You ever gonna get healthy?’ And I’m just like, ‘Damn.’ Not like, ‘How you feeling?’ Never that, it was always comments like that. It kind of upset me, but kind of rolled over my head.”
It’s not a surprise. Last year, TheAthletic.com reported (among other things) that Johnson once said to quarterback Mike White, who threw his helmet to the floor of the locker room after a Jets loss to the Seahawks, “You should throw your helmet, you fucking suck.”
So, yes, the Jets are trying to take one step back in the hopes of someday taking multiple steps forward. But, like every chronically dysfunctional team, the tone is set at the top of the organization. Johnson’s alleged comments to Travis provide yet another concrete example of the fact that, for as long as he runs the team, it makes little sense to expect true and sustained success.
If it ever happens, it won’t occur because of Johnson. It’ll happen in spite of him.
The Jets were involved in the two biggest deals ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s trade deadline and General Manager Darren Mougey held a press conference to discuss the deals after the deadline passed.
Mougey traded cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys in a pair of trades that brought back a 2026 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, two 2027 first-round picks, wide receiver AD Mitchell, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Mougey said that it is “never easy moving on from any player, let alone guys like Sauce and Quinnen,” but that the team felt they got offers they could not resist.
“You’re set on what these values are, what they’re really worth and these players and what you might be willing to do to part ways with them,” Mougey said. “We got to today and had these offers that we just felt were too good for the team, and we made that with Sauce and Quinnen.”
The Jets signed Gardner to a four-year extension this offseason, but Mougey said it was structured to make sure Gardner could be traded in the future. The expectation was not that it would happen quite so quickly, but the offers from the Colts kept “getting richer and richer in their value.”
At 1-7, the Jets had ample reason to look forward to the future before Tuesday’s trades. Now that they’ve been made, there’s no doubt that the Jets will be doing some major roster construction and their ability to nail that process will determine how these two trades are viewed in the long run.
The Jets traded cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts on Tuesday and news that they picked up another corner in another trade came shortly after Tuesday afternoon’s deadline.
The Chargers announced that they have traded Ja’Sir Taylor to the Jets for a 2028 conditional seventh-round pick. The conditions of that pick were not announced, but there’s plenty of time to come to light before the pick would actually be conveyed.
Taylor was a 2022 sixth-round pick in Los Angeles. He has started 11 of the 57 games he’s played in the league and has been credited with 84 tackles, an interception, 14 passes defensed, and a fumble recovery.
In addition to moving Gardner, the Jets also traded Michael Carter to the Eagles since their last game in Week 8. We’ll see how Taylor fits into that secondary and how the new-look Jets defense — which also saw Quinnen Williams depart in a trade — will fare overall against the Browns.
The Jets announced the trade that will send defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys.
The team confirmed it is acquiring a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick, along with defensive tackle Mazi Smith, for Williams.
The Cowboys discussed a trade for Williams before the season started in a potential deal involving Micah Parsons, Todd Archer of ESPN reports. The Cowboys were told the Jets didn’t have the resources to sign Parsons to a new contract.
The Cowboys now have Kenny Clark, one of the returns in the Parsons’ trade to Green Bay, Williams and Osa Odighizuwa, who they signed to an $80 million contract in March, in the interior of their defensive line.
Williams is a three-time Pro Bowler and a one-time All-Pro. In 98 games with the Jets, he totaled 322 tackles, 59 tackles for loss and 40 sacks.
The Jets sent defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys for a second-round pick in 2026 and a first-round pick in 2027, as well as defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
The Cowboys own two first-round picks in 2027, having acquired the Packers’ first-rounders for 2026 and 2027 in the Micah Parsons trade.
The Jets will receive the higher of the 2027 first-round picks the Cowboys own.
After today’s trades of Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner, the Jets have two first-round picks in 2026 (theirs and the Colts) and their own second-round pick. They have three first-round picks in 2027 — theirs, the Cowboys and the Colts.
The 2027 draft is projected to be loaded with talent.
