The DWI case against Jets defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was dismissed, because of insufficient evident, TMZ Sports reports.
Prosecutors filed the motion to dismiss, saying they cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt the “element of intoxication,” according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Sweat was arrested by Austin, Texas, police in the early morning hours of April 7, 2024, after a rollover crash on Interstate 35. Sweat’s SUV was hit from behind by a sedan, whose driver fled on foot.
Police said Sweat had “glassy eyes” and his car smelled of “burnt marijuana.”
His attorney, E.G. Morris, released a statement to TMZ.
“He was involved in an accident that was not his fault, and he was lucky to come away from it with no lasting injuries,” Morris said. “I commend the Travis County Attorney’s Office for carefully reviewing this case and coming to the conclusion stated in the motion to dismiss.
“Some may say he received special treatment. He got the treatment that I hope every citizen will receive in these circumstances. Professionalism from the prosecutors. The evidence simply didn’t support the charge.”
The Titans selected Sweat with the 26th overall pick in the 2022 draft, and he spent his first two seasons in Tennessee. The Titans traded him to the Jets, and the trade became official on Thursday.
He has 85 tackles, eight for a loss, with three sacks and a forced fumble in his career.
Jets Clips
A month ago, we noted that there was talk of Jets owner Woody Johnson meddling in head coach Aaron Glenn’s decision on who to hire as the Jets’ defensive coordinator. Now that talk has been bolstered by one of the candidates who was passed over for the job.
Wink Martindale, who was once viewed as the favorite to become the Jets’ defensive coordinator, told Pat Leonard that he thinks the decision on who to hire was out of Glenn’s hands.
“I think it was close,” Martindale said of his prospects of getting the job. “First of all, I’ve always respected and I like Aaron Glenn. He’s a good dude, and we think a lot alike on a lot of similar things defensively. But I think it was one of those, just to be honest with you, I think it was one of those decisions that was out of his hands, and we’ll just leave it at that. But that’s OK. Wherever you’re at is where you’re supposed to be. That’s what I’ve lived by forever and will until I go away.”
Martindale interviewed twice for the job and seemed likely to get it, but Glenn ended up hiring Brian Duker, just a day after he first interviewed for the job — and long after Glenn had interviewed Martindale and seven other candidates.
Martindale, who does not currently have a coaching job, was the Giants’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023 and had hoped to return to New York.
“I was excited to get back to the city and I think that would’ve been fun. I think it would’ve been a great challenge,” Martindale said.
Now it’s a challenge for Glenn and Duker, and if they don’t significantly improve the Jets’ defense, Johnson may be hiring a new head coach in 10 months.
As the details regarding various free-agent deals make their way into PFT headquarters, some things stand out.
For the wave of 2026 contracts, one specific fact stands out clearly.
The three-year deal negotiated by the Patriots and offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker includes per-game roster bonuses in the amount of $4.25 million. Per year.
It’s the largest per-game roster bonus we’ve ever seen, by far. It works out to $250,000 earned for each game he plays. And $250,000 lost for each game he misses.
The contract otherwise has a signing bonus of $7.2 million and base salaries of $2.3 million for 2026 (fully guaranteed), $9.5 million for 2027 ($7 million of which is fully-guaranteed at signing), and $9.5 million for 2028.
Vera-Tucker, a first-round pick of the Jets in 2021, has $2 million in annual incentives, tied to playing time and qualifying for the Pro Bowl.
The contract also has annual workout bonuses of $250,000. The 2026 workout bonus is fully guaranteed, but it must be earned.
The $4.25 million in per-game roster bonuses for 2026 are also fully guaranteed, but they also must be earned. (The guarantees only come into play if Vera-Tucker is released before or during the 2026 season.)
The Patriots had reason to protect themselves. A first-round pick in 2021, Vera-Tucker missed all of 2025 due to a torn triceps. He also missed 24 other games in four seasons.
Still, it’s a massive amount that is tied directly to his ability to play. It also creates a sizable incentive to make him inactive in late-season games that carry no real meaning.
We’ll see how it goes. There’s no precedent to compare it to. In all, $12.75 million is tied to being able to play. That makes the base APY as low as $9.75 million and as high as $14 million.
The Jets are bringing back one of their reserve offensive linemen for another season.
They announced that they have re-signed Xavier Newman on Thursday. The team did not disclose any terms of the deal.
Newman played four games for the Titans before joining the Jets during the 2023 season. He started in four of his seven appearances for the team that year and he has appeared in 14 games as a reserve over the last two seasons.
The Jets have also re-signed backup tackle Max Mitchell and added guard Dylan Parham this week. Last year’s starting guards John Simpson and Alijah Vera-Tucker have both agreed to sign with other teams.
A year ago at this time, the Raiders had traded for quarterback Geno Smith, reuniting him with Pete Carroll as his head coach.
But things for Las Vegas did not work out as planned, with the Raiders finishing 3-14 in 2025. Carroll was fired after his one season with the franchise. On Wednesday, Smith was officially traded to the Jets — the team that selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft.
Carroll gave his first interview since being fired to Rich Cimini of ESPN, saying that he loves talking about Smith.
“I think I see him differently than a lot of people see him,” Carroll told Cimini. “I love him and appreciate him differently.”
Carroll said that he and the rest of the coaches didn’t do a good enough job preparing Smith for success.
“He’s a phenomenal quarterback, he really is,” Carroll said. “He had a fantastic offseason and preseason with us, and he comes out in the first game, has a great first game. It was all fitting. It was exactly the right time for us. Then we just faltered and faltered. We didn’t do well enough, coaching.
“We should’ve had him better prepared for the things that happened, and that wouldn’t have happened,” he continued. “I take a lot of responsibility in that. We didn’t prepare him well enough in the offseason even though he looked great and we felt we had everything lined up. It was very, very disappointing for us both.”
Carroll also took a bit of a shot at the Raiders’ front office, noting that the club didn’t have good enough personnel along the offensive line to protect Smith, which led to a lot of the quarterback’s issues.
“We got killed, we got killed,” Carroll said. “Our offensive guys up front, from the last couple of years, we got murdered. We needed to upgrade that more than we did. It didn’t happen in the draft, and it didn’t happen in the offseason.
“We didn’t go for it in the offseason. We needed to buy a new line to give the guys a chance to at least be more competitive. The only reason you get sacked that much is because you try to throw it too much. The whole thing didn’t quite work out and what’s why you saw a change and all that.”
Carroll fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly in November, replacing him with Greg Olson on an interim basis. But the results didn’t improve much, as Smith finished the season having completed 67,4 percent of his passes for 3,025 yards with 19 touchdowns and a league-leading 17 interceptions in 15 games.
Carroll noted that Smith “didn’t get to reap the benefits of our relationship” with the Raiders. But the former head coach feels like Smith can bounce back with the Jets.
“If he figured out [New York] was a good place for him and he wanted to do it, and he was part of the decision, then I couldn’t support him more,” Carroll said. “If he saw the reasoning and felt the support and the opportunity, I couldn’t be in more favor of it. I love the guy and want the very best for him. He deserves it. He worked really hard to get where he is.”
Yes, quarterback Kyler Murray will visit the Vikings on Thursday — his agent, Erik Burkhardt, has confirmed that to NFL Media.
But here’s the interesting twist, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media: Burkhardt told him that Murray plans to meet by Zoom on Wednesday night and Thursday with executives from three to five teams that potentially have a quarterback need in 2027.
Possibilities (as we see it) include the Jets, the Steelers, the Browns, the Falcons, and the Rams.
It gives Murray an opportunity to get a head start on free agency next year, which underscores the likelihood he’ll sign a one-year, $1.3 million deal for 2026.
That makes a no-tag clause critical. He needs to be able to hit the market next year, if for whatever reason he plays well and doesn’t get a solid offer to stick around with the Vikings, or whoever he signs with.
The Vikings continue to be the clear favorite. There’s really no one else. And, as of last season near the trade deadline, the Vikings were one of the teams in which Murray was interested.
The Colts have added defensive lineman Micheal Clemons, who agreed to a three-year, $17.5 million deal, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report. The deal includes another $1 million of incentives.
Clemons joins Derrick Nnadi as a defensive lineman headed to Indianapolis after the Colts lost Kwity Paye to the Raiders.
Clemons, 28, joined the Jets as a fourth-round pick in 2022, and he spent his first four seasons in New York. He played 65 games, with 24 starts.
Clemons made only six starts last season, while playing behind Will McDonald and Jermaine Johnson, but he played a higher percentage of the snaps (55 percent) than he did in 2024 (54 percent) when he started all 17 games.
In his career, Clemons has totaled 119 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 20 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed. He also has 10 penalties for 97 yards.
The Panthers are adding one of quarterback Bryce Young’s former college teammates.
Receiver John Metchie is signing a one-year deal with the club, via Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Metchie, 25, was traded twice in 2025 — first from Houston to Philadelphia in August, then from the Eagles to the Jets in late October. He made much more of an impact with the Jets, catching 29 passes for 256 yards with two touchdowns in nine games. He had just four receptions for 18 yards with Philadelphia.
In all, Metchie has caught 73 passes for 686 yards with three touchdowns in his career. He’s appeared in 45 games with 10 starts since being selected in the second round out of Alabama.
The Jets agreed to terms with offensive guard Dylan Parham on a two-year deal worth up to $20 million, NFL Media reports.
Parham, 26, ranks 95th on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents.
The Raiders drafted Parham in the third round in 2022, and he spent his first four seasons with the team.
He appeared in 64 games, with 63 starts, seeing time at left guard, right guard and center.
Parham played 15 games in 2025, seeing action on 842 snaps.
He has played 3,803 offensive snaps in his NFL career.
The Jets have agreed to terms with one of their offensive linemen on a new deal and they’re also set to add a kicker in the wake of Nick Folk’s departure.
According to multiple reports, they will re-sign Max Mitchell and sign Cade York to the roster.
Mitchell joined the Jets as a 2022 fourth-round pick and has appeared in 45 games over the last four seasons. Mitchell has started 17 of those games and he provides some depth on a line that has lost starting guards Alijah Vera-Tucker and John Simpson in free agency.
York spent time with the Saints in 2025, but did not appear in any games. He was 9-of-13 on field goals and 17-of-18 on extra points in five games for the Bengals and Commanders in 2024. The Browns selected York in the fourth round in 2022, but he was let go after missing eight field goals during his rookie season.
Folk, who led the league in field goal percentage last year, agreed to sign with the Falcons this week.
