Aaron Glenn’s New York Jets continued training camp with a familiar franchise in town: the local New York Giants of the NFC.
Tuesday morning’s Jets-Giants joint practice in Florham Park, NJ, began with a triumphant time for the first-team defense, whereas Justin Fields and the offense struggled to find similar success to that of preseason Week 1 at Lambeau Field.
Jets defense dominates
The presence of another team energized the Jets, especially the first-team defense.
Russell Wilson could not get anything going early in team sessions (11v11). Aside from one nice-looking rush attempt that hit the B or C gap on the right side, Steve Wilks’s unit shone.
Jay Tufele continued to do his stellar summer thing. On one early rep, he beat his man to pick up a clear tackle for loss.
Shortly thereafter, Will McDonald used his familiar spin move to sack Wilson in the backfield. (Naturally, the sack came by way of the imaginative type, considering the quarterbacks could not be touched and the teams did not tackle to the ground.)
Some Jets defense: Tufele and McDonald have already dominated a play each, TFL and sack. Sherwood knocks a ball down at the LOS. McCarty-Ball just smacked a back down a couple of yards between the tackles.
Giants got off one nice looking play, a rush to the right side that may…
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) August 12, 2025
The coverage, in particular, was stellar. Sauce Gardner continued to put forth impressive coverage, while Michael Carter II’s professionalism is impossible to miss. Rarely (if ever) does MC2 stray from his responsibility within the defensive play’s integrity.
On the negative side, Micheal Clemons was beaten on a backside rush that saw the running back cut it early and wide. Unfortunately, it appeared Clemons squeezed too flat down the line of scrimmage (with not enough depth).
Giants go with a bit of a gadget-type play, motion, trying to get a weapon in space off the right side. McDonald does a solid job of turning it in. I just can’t tell on the depth, if he was too far downhill or not, but he turned it in, and Quincy was there to make the tackle (if…
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) August 12, 2025
The positive for the Giants’ offense came when the first team trotted off the field. Rookie Jaxson Dart looked impressive in his time on the field, regularly tearing up the Jets’ second-team (and sometimes third-team) defensive coverage.
When speaking purely about the first team, the Giants’ lone bright spot happened towards the end of practice when the two teams came together entirely (instead of the split fields). Russell Wilson beat Tony Adams in the end zone for a touchdown that began just outside the red zone.
Jordan Clark sighting: This kid absolutely has an NFL mind and NFL instincts; there’s no question about it. But can his size + quickness hold up? He just read a rushing play on the defense’s right side, busted through, had a shot at TFL. But I don’t think he would have had him,…
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) August 12, 2025
Jets offense is up and down
After the initial stretching and quick positional period, the Jets and Giants came together for 7v7 sessions. It was here that Justin Fields found early success throwing the ball.
Tanner Engstrand’s offense entered this joint practice emphasizing the three-step passing attack. Whether it was a few Garrett Wilson receptions or targeting the returning-to-the-lineup Mason Taylor, Fields played on time and quickly early.
The offense even looked solid early during full team sessions (11v11). Fields found Tyler Johnson, who came away with a tremendous reception in what turned out to be double coverage near the sideline.
Unfortunately, the offense sputtered after the smooth start. Fields threw it inconsistently, and the offensive line had some issues.
While Olu Fashanu was rock solid, rookie Armand Membou had some issues against the quick Brian Burns. Also, Abdul Carter had his way against Joe Tippmann on an A or B-gap rush (which should be expected when a freak of an athlete is mugging the interior and rushing 1v1 against an interior lineman).
Fields finds Ruckert for the score, confident throw. Previous one I missed, but based on the crowd’s groans, seemed to be a misfire by the QB.
Russell Wilson and the Jints O had their way with Jets first team D on the first rotation. Tony Adams had a tough one.
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) August 12, 2025
Fields fought back to end practice. When the two teams came together, he found Jeremy Ruckert for a touchdown.
Jets camp news and notes
Aaron Glenn mentioned that backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor underwent a knee procedure and is expected to miss the preseason, but the organization is hopeful he’ll be ready by Week 1.
With Taylor out, all eyes go to Brady Cook and Adrian Martinez. Cook, who served as QB2 in Green Bay, endured a frightening moment late in practice.
After throwing a quick WR screen to the right boundary, he fell flat down, raising initial long-term injury concerns. Fortunately, Glenn confirmed that it’s not expected to be a serious injury.
Not good for Brady Cook, as the ball was complete on a designed throw, but it fluttered a bit high BC he’s injured. Plant foot (right), hopefully not Achilles. Maybe ankle tweak of some sort? Walking a bit better as he leaves, but he went down immediately. Rough break.
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) August 12, 2025
Jets players who returned to practice Tuesday morning include the previously mentioned Mason Taylor, Xavier Gipson, John Simpson, and Jermaine Johnson, who was recently activated off the PUP list. Although Johnson was seen practicing, he did not participate in team sessions, as expected.
The New York Jets turn around quickly to practice with the Giants yet again, at MetLife Stadium this time, on Wednesday morning.
Reporting from the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, NJ.