5 players the Jets should target in free agency
The Cardinals' Kyler Murray leaves the field after a loss against the Seahawks on Sep. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona. Credit: Getty Images/Christian Petersen
The Jets have everything they need to be aggressive in free agency, and they will be. Jobs could depend on it.
Head coach Aaron Glenn is expected to be on the hot seat if the Jets don’t show considerable improvement from last year’s 3-14 mess.
The Jets have needs all over the field, starting with quarterback. They should have about $74 million in salary-cap space and the assets to be active in trades with four of the first 44 picks in next month’s draft and three first-round choices next year.
To rebuild this roster and field a competitive team in 2026, Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey have to use this flexibility wisely.
“We’ve got one of the younger rosters in the NFL,” Mougey said. “[It’s] an opportunity to add some veteran players, some veteran leadership at certain positions.”
Here are five players the Jets should target in free agency:
Kyler Murray, QB
The Jets have to check in on Malik Willis, but they can’t get into a bidding war with Miami or Arizona if they don’t feel Willis is their long-term solution. Many expect the Jets to go all-in for their next quarterback in the 2027 draft.
In the short term, Murray would be a low-cost, potentially high-reward option as a one-year bridge quarterback.
Arizona will release Murray when the new league year starts on Wednesday and pay his $36.8 million guaranteed salary. The Jets could sign Murray for the minimum.
Murray has baggage, and his size and style don’t match what new coordinator Frank Reich likes in a quarterback, which could make Geno Smith and Carson Wentz options.
But in Murray, the Jets could get a motivated former Pro Bowl player looking to re-establish himself and silence his critics. It could be a win-win.
Alec Pierce, WR
Garrett Wilson needs help and the Jets need more weapons. Pierce is coming off a 1,000-yard receiving season despite catching only 47 passes and missing two games for Indianapolis. He led the NFL with 21.3 yards per catch.
At 6-3, 211 pounds, Pierce has good size and speed and knows how to create separation. Reich would know how to use Pierce; he was the Colts’ head coach in the receiver’s rookie season.
He will be atop many receiver-needy teams’ lists, so he could be pricey. Jauan Jennings, Romeo Doubs or Wan’Dale Robinson would be good fallbacks.
Alex Anzalone, LB
A proven veteran leader, Anzalone would be the perfect coach on the field to run Glenn’s defense. They spent eight of the past nine seasons together in Detroit and New Orleans and are close.
“His leadership is outstanding as far as getting the guys to understand exactly how I’m trying to call the game and the direction I’m trying to go,” Glenn said when he was the Lions’ defensive coordinator.
Anzalone, a captain all four seasons Glenn was in Detroit, called Glenn “the biggest mentor that I’ve had in my professional career.”
It would be surprising if they didn’t reunite with the Jets.
Odafe Oweh, edge rusher
After trading edge rusher Jermaine Johnson last week, the Jets need someone to line up opposite Will McDonald and disrupt the quarterback. The Jets were next-to-last in sacks (26) last season and were the first team in NFL history to record zero interceptions.
Oweh, 27, had 10 sacks for Baltimore in 2024 and 7.5 in 12 games last season after being traded to the Chargers. A New Jersey native, he has experience in a 3-4 defense, which the Jets are expected to play more.
Lions edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, who played for Glenn in New Orleans and Detroit, is a possibility, too.
Nahshon Wright, CB
The Jets need a ballhawk after last season’s embarrassing record-setting performance. Their four takeaways were the fewest in NFL history, and only three were by the Jets’ defense. They’re also expected to be active in the safety market.
Wright isn’t a shutdown cornerback by any means, but he had a breakout campaign with the Bears last season. He made the Pro Bowl after tying for second in the NFL with five interceptions and tying for first with three fumbles recovered.
New Orleans cornerback Alontae Taylor could be a more cost-effective option.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
