While the NFL’s legal tampering window does not open until 12 p.m. EST on March 9, there are already free agents waiting to be signed.

Players released from their contracts before March 9 are immediately allowed to negotiate with new teams. On Friday afternoon, an intriguing player joined that pool—one whom the New York Jets are familiar with.

The Jets’ AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, released 29-year-old cornerback Taron Johnson, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Bills are releasing corner Taron Johnson after eight seasons together, per source.

Johnson started 87 games for Buffalo and became an All Pro in 2023. pic.twitter.com/iZ5q473GBq

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 6, 2026

Johnson, a fourth-round pick in 2018, spent each of his first eight seasons in Buffalo, appearing in 113 regular season games and 15 playoff games. He consistently performed as one of the better slot defenders in football, highlighted by a second-team All-Pro appearance in 2023.

The Jets should immediately get his agent on the phone.

It is always wise to pluck quality players from your division rivals when given the opportunity. Not only does it tilt the odds in your favor against a team you will see twice per year, but it also provides you with intel on that team’s schemes and strategies. Johnson is intimately familiar with how Buffalo operates after spending eight years in the organization.

Most importantly, Johnson remains a solid player despite Buffalo’s decision to release him. The Jets have a chance to swipe one of the Bills’ best defenders.

While injuries limited him to 13 games, Johnson had another excellent campaign in slot coverage when healthy. Across 295 snaps in slot coverage, Johnson allowed just 245 yards on throws in his direction, a measly average of 0.83 yards per slot coverage snap. This ranked second-best among the 20 cornerbacks with at least 200 snaps in slot coverage, trailing only Philadelphia’s Cooper DeJean (0.78).

The Jets can use help at the slot position. They traded their starter of the past five seasons, Michael Carter II, during the 2025 season. Carter II was replaced by mid-season trade acquisition Jarvis Brownlee Jr., a 2024 seventh-round pick of the Titans. While Brownlee showed promise through his physicality near the line of scrimmage, his coverage was an issue.

Brownlee allowed 162 yards on just 112 snaps in slot coverage, an average of 1.45 yards per cover snap, which ranked 25th among the 34 cornerbacks with at least 100 snaps in slot coverage. He also committed six defensive penalties in just seven games. On top of that, Brownlee missed the Jets’ final six games with a hip injury.

The slot position is a hole for the Jets. Brownlee offers potential, but as a seventh-round pick who was prone to coverage lapses and penalties last year, he is far from a shoo-in starter. Johnson would immediately provide a substantial upgrade for New York at the position.

The Jets’ need for a slot cornerback has gone overlooked among fans and media. Part of it may be due to the fact that Brownlee bought some early goodwill when he forced the Jets’ first takeaway of the 2025 season in Week 6, just a few snaps into his first extended appearance for the team. Overall, though, he didn’t do enough to stake his claim to a long-term starting role.

For a Jets team hoping to return to playoff contention in 2026, it would be wise to target an established veteran like Johnson to instantly raise the floor at a position of weakness. To boot, his extensive playoff experience would be valuable for a young team that is still learning how to win.

Jets general manager Darren Mougey has a chance to get on the board with an impressive splash before legal tampering even begins.