When the Jets traded Sauce Gardner to the Colts last season, they dealt away both their No. 1 cornerback and the player who wore No. 1 on his jersey.
Second-year corner Azareye’h Thomas has his eyes on taking over both roles. The third-round pick wore No. 23 while playing in 12 games before landing on injured reserve as a rookie and he has switched to Gardner’s former number for his second season.
Thomas said that the switch is indicative of the expectations that he has for himself in 2026.
“It’s a different type of pressure, a different set of expectations when you walk out there and you’re number one,” Thomas said, via the team’s website. “If you’re number one, you’re number one and you got to play like it. But as I walk out there, I’m not thinking like that but of course it’s in the back of my mind like I’ve got to perform, like I said though, that’s a given. But I’m no longer walking out there with that baggage on my back because I know I’m playing for an audience of one.”
The Jets signed Nahshon Wright and drafted DeAngelo Ponds to add to a cornerback group that brings back Brandon Stephens in addition to Thomas. No one in that group has earned the accolades Gardner did during his Jets tenure, but they’ll all get opportunities to show that the Jets are back on track after an interception-less 2025 season.
Jets Clips
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and Jets G.M. Darren Mougey have a connection that dates back to their time as college roommates at San Diego State. In a Thursday conference call promoting the upcoming American Century Championship, O’Connell praised the man who is trying to turn around the Jets.
O’Connell, via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, sent plenty of text messages to Mougey during the offseason.
“Most of the time I was complimenting him on whether it was a great draft they had, or how they handled some of their internal situations there — getting their running back [Breece Hall re-signed],” O’Connell said.
“I just think the plan that he’s had has been really well thought-out. It’s one thing — a lot of teams put the time and the energy in to have as much good planning as you can — but it’s about the execution of those plans. The way Darren has gone about it doesn’t surprise me.”
It’s an encouraging sign for Jets fans to hear a coach who has taken the Vikings to the playoffs twice in three seasons. The Jets haven’t been there once since 2010.
“I know there’s not a day Darren shows up to work that he doesn’t feel prepared — and I think that’s proving to be the case,” O’Connell said. “He’s not afraid to make difficult decisions, and I think that’s because it’s in alignment with the process that he has. He’s attempting to execute a vision that he has for that organization. As a former Jet, it’s always good to see the organization in good hands — and they certainly are with Darren and [head coach Aaron Glenn].”
Alignment is the key. If the timeline had aligned a little differently, Mougey could have been the new G.M. with O’Connell in Minnesota. Instead, it’ll be Nolan Teasley who’ll hopefully develop the kind of relationship with O’Connell that O’Connell has with Mougey.
Of course, that relationship will have the pause button pressed on January 3, when the Vikings face the Jets at MetLife Stadium. Especially if both teams are competing for a playoff berth when Week 17 rolls around.
Bryce Huff abruptly retired from the NFL in March at the age of 27. He instantly transitioned to the thing Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll called a football player’s “life’s work.”
As explained recently by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Huff and his older brother have started a company that hopes to address the fire risk of lithium-ion batteries.
“I feel like we’re going to save a lot of lives and protect a lot of companies,” Huff told Tafur.
Bryce Huff has funded the company, which currently has six employees as it ramps up, with some of his $40.6 million in career earnings.
“Everything is slowly but surely containing batteries, from cars to our tools to bikes, you name it,” Huff told Tafur. “The biggest risk with batteries is the way they ignite if they were to take on some type of damage or malfunction or short circuit. One cell in the battery combusts . . . and then it’s just like a chain reaction throughout the battery.”
The goal is to find a way to quickly extinguish such fires, without toxic chemicals being released.
“There’s not really much on the market that works like our product does, being environmentally friendly and safe to use for firefighters and people around the world,” engineer Nik Tacker told Tafur of the company’s efforts to date.
Bryce Huff studied mechanical engineering while playing college football at Memphis.
“Going into the NFL, I couldn’t really put my love for engineering to good use,” Huff told Tafur. “But now I feel like since we’re working with engineers on a day-to-day basis, it’s just as good as actually being an engineer myself.”
Even though, from the outside, it appears that Huff retired early after six years with the Jets, Eagles, and 49ers, he knew the end was coming one way or the other.
“Everybody knows football is a short-term game,” Huff said. “You can only play until your 30s anyway.”
Huff said his teammates were shocked. His mother was also upset.
“I’ve played football my entire life, and she definitely wanted to see me continue to play,” Huff said.
She now may see him start a successful company from scratch. And the product could indeed help protect many, given that lithium-ion batteries are pretty much everywhere at this point.
With the criminal battery trial against former NFL quarterback and former Fox analyst Mark Sanchez already delayed four times, it’s easy to assume that the current trial date will change, too. But the current trial date is only 10 days away.
More importantly, the date of the final pre-trial conference, July 8, is only five days away. If the final pre-trial conference happens, that usually means the trial is happening. Unless there’s a plea deal.
And a plea deal seems very possible. Sanchez should want one. Even if he testifies, what can he say? He told investigators at the time of his back-alley fight with a 69-year-old truck driver that he didn’t remember anything. If he gets on the stand and spins a yarn that he was just out for a walk and suddenly got stabbed multiple times, who will believe it?
Besides, the prosecution has identified more than 50 pieces of video evidence from surveillance cameras that tracked the action from the evening in early October, as Sanchez strolled through the streets of Indianapolis — apparently after leaving St. Elmo’s. Video helped authorities determine that the version provided by Perry Tole, who explained that he stabbed Sanchez in self-defense, was accurate. It’s why Sanchez was charged with multiple crimes, and why Tole was charged with none.
The biggest impediment to a plea deal could be that the prosecution isn’t offering much of a break to Sanchez. Why would they? Prosecutors press forward with cases they believe they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sure, sometimes they get it wrong. But this case seems to be pretty clear, based on the widely-reported facts that Sanchez has never tried to dispute.
Sanchez, possibly while under the influence of alcohol and/or something more potent, apparently initiated an argument with Tole. It escalated, eventually, into a fight. And the 69-year-old Tole was no match for the then-38-year-old former professional athlete, who has roughly the same height and weight as the slightly embellished measurements of the Commander-in-Chief.
If the prosecution is insisting on real jail time, why wouldn’t Sanchez roll the dice on getting a favorable jury? That’s one of the basic realities of any trial, criminal or civil. Two different juries could reach two different verdicts in the same case, with the same evidence and arguments.
It makes sense for prosecutors to drive a hard bargain. One, they have the facts on their side. Two, why wouldn’t the chief law enforcement officer in a given jurisdiction feel compelled to throw the book at an out-of-towner who shows up for a short stay and inflicts serious injuries on a local resident?
If the trial happens, it will be televised. The presiding judge made that ruling early on. That’s another reason for the prosecutors to press forward. If all the facts come out, one at a time, for the world to see (and react to on social media), it could do permanent damage to Sanchez’s future media prospects.
Then again, that damage may already be done. At this point, it could be simply about doing damage control when it comes to the ultimate consequences for Sanchez’s unexpected excursion.
Beyond nearly getting him killed, it could get him imprisoned — for multiple years.
Nahshon Wright had only one interception in his first four seasons. He had five with the Bears last season.
That was five interceptions more than the Jets had as a team last season.
Wright signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Jets in the offseason, leaving the Bears after one season.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously I know about it,” Wright said of the Jets’ interception-less season, via Jack Bell of the team website. “I mean, I’m on social media, so I’ve seen it, but try not to pay it any mind.”
In 2025, the Jets became the first NFL team to finish a season without an interception on defense. With that in mind, they signed Wright, whose eight takeaways last season were a league high, traded for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and drafted cornerback DeAngelo Ponds.
“I honestly don’t think it’s been brought up at all [in meetings],” Wright said. “I think 2025 was 2025, and I think we’re trying to turn over a new leaf, so we haven’t spoken about it at all.”
Wright played 97 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps in the 16 games he played last season. He had never played more than 27 percent of the snaps in his three seasons with the Cowboys and his one with the Vikings.
Wright took advantage of the extended playing time, with 11 passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and 80 tackles in addition to his takeaways.
“I think just being on the field, and I think what being on the field brings in terms of confidence,” Wright said. “And then, obviously, when you make plays, it kind of helps with that as well. So, I think of just being on the field and then obviously the coach is trusting in me.
“And having a knack for the ball, being confident enough to get my eyes back to the ball, and then the preparation, being able to go into the week and see what [other] teams like to do, and type of concepts they run and be able to anticipate certain things.”
Jets linebacker Demario Davis is heading into his 15th NFL season, and he has missed only one game in his NFL career, an impressive run of durability that he attributes to the way he takes care of his body throughout the year.
Davis told Rich Cimini of ESPN that he spends nearly $1 million a year on keeping himself fit and healthy for the rigors of an NFL season. It’s clearly working, as he’s still going strong at age 37, and is now one of the Top 10 linebackers in NFL history in games played.
Davis pays a team of six different people to keep him in shape, and he says the various forms of physical therapy he gets are his top priority.
“I go from the field to the table, from the table to the field,” Davis said. “What I mean by that is, when I’m not training, I’m recovering. When I’m not recovering, I’m training.”
Among the recovery work Davis does is acupuncture, radio frequency energy stimulation, naturopathic medicine, chiropractic care, muscle activation, cupping, scraping, dry-needle therapy, red-light therapy, fascia stretching, hot and cold tubs, epsom salt baths and active release therapy.
Davis also has a personal chef who makes him a high-protein diet with plenty of red meat and foods that limit inflammation.
“My body is my company, and the brand that comes from playing the game is my company,” Davis said. “If I don’t reinvest in the engine of the company and the brand of the company, I just don’t think that’s wise. I just try to be a good steward of what’s been given.”
If you’re confused by how the World Cup works, join the club.
We’ve finally made sense of how 48 teams became the 32 that will now proceed to the single-elimination knockout round. Of the 12 four-team groups, the top two made it, along with the best eight third-place teams.
Along the way, Iran was in after a goal by Algeria against Austria in stoppage time on Saturday night — and then out after Austria scored in the final seconds to force a 3-3 tie.
For the United States, here’s the path to what would be an unexpected but thrilling run to the final match.
On Wednesday, July 1, the U.S. plays Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. A win would put the U.S. team into the round of 16, facing the winner of Belgium and Senegal. That match will happen on Monday, July 6 at Lumen Field in Seattle.
A win there would send the U.S. to the final eight. The opponent for the match to be played on Friday, July 10, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles would be the team that emerges from this quartet of countries: Portugal, Croatia, Spain, and Austria.
Next up would be a trip to the semifinals, on Tuesday, July 14, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Then, a victory would trigger a berth in the final game, to be played on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
It won’t be easy. It will require four straight wins, starting in just three days, with the site of Super Bowl LX hosting one of the most consequential soccer matches the U.S. has ever seen.
A win would raise the stakes considerably in the home stadium of the defending Super Bowl champions. A victory there would shift the focus to the site of Super Bowl LXI. Then, all eyes would turn to Jerry World — for a match at a level his Cowboys haven’t achieved since the year after the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup.
The Jets drafted tight end Mason Taylor in the second round in 2025, so some might wonder how well he took the news that they used a first-round pick on a player at the same position this year.
Kenyon Sadiq’s arrival was not met with a negative response from Taylor, however. The presence of offensive coordinator Frank Reich has something to do with that.
Taylor said this month that he sees “endless opportunities” to make plays in Reich’s offense because the coach “likes to use” tight ends and those opportunities will be enhanced because wide receiver Garrett Wilson is also going to be on the field.
“Everyone’s going to have their role and I just think it’s going to be really exciting because we’re going to be unstoppable actually because there’s so many options and if you want to shut down the tight ends, then there’s Garrett and the receivers,” Taylor said, via the team’s website.
Unstoppable is rarely a term associated with Jets offenses and quarterback Geno Smith’s recent play will make it hard for some to share Taylor’s optimism, but the addition of Sadiq and first-round wideout Omar Cooper to Taylor, Wilson and running back Breece Hall gives the Jets a more complete set of weapons than they had to work with last season.
Then, there was one. . . .
The Falcons reached agreement with tight end Kyle Pitts on a three-year, $54 million deal, leaving Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens as the only player who will play this season on the franchise tag.
Pitts, Pickens and Jets running back Breece Hall were tagged by their team, but Pitts and Hall have agreed to long-term deals. Hall signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract last month.
In addition, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who received the transition tag, signed a two-year, $88 million contract in March.
The Cowboys have until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with Pickens, but they already announced the Pro Bowler will play 2026 under the tag. Pickens has signed the $27.3 million tag and participated in the mandatory minicamp last week.
The Jets have had no comment on the assault allegation made against quarterback Geno Smith, or the investigation that the allegation has sparked. The NFL has addressed the situation.
“We are aware of the matter and the club has been in contact with the league,” an NFL spokesperson told PFT via email. “We have no further comment at this time.”
Regardless of whether the criminal investigation results in charges, the NFL can investigate the matter under the Personal Conduct Policy. If the league believes the terms of the policy were violated, discipline can be imposed.
Multiple players over the years have been disciplined by the league without being arrested or charged. In many cases, the key question is whether the alleged victim will choose to cooperate with the NFL. Because the league has no subpoena power, the willingness (or lack thereof) of the alleged victim to speak to the NFL becomes a key component in whether the league will be able to find a violation.
