Veteran defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad is one of the players the Detroit Lions will hope not to lose when free agency opens next month. The 30-year-old Muhammad is coming off a fantastic 2025 season that saw him set career-highs across the board in quarterback hits (20), tackles for loss (9), quarterback pressures (26), and sacks (11).

Muhammad and Aidan Hutchinson carried the Lions’ pass rush unit, and that’s something they can afford to lose in 2026, given the current state of depth. However, it won’t be easy to retain him as other pass-rusher-needy teams will be circling the wagons to deter Muhammad from coming back to the Motor City.

In fact, one of those teams that could be in the mix for Muhammad is the New York Jets, who just traded away one of their young pass rushers, giving them a void they must fill over the next few weeks.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Jets are trading defensive end Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. The trade cannot be processed until the start of the new league year next month.

Jets Could Become Serious Suitor for Al-Quadin Muhammad in FA

With Johnson on his way out of New York, the Jets’ best pass rusher is Will McDonald, who had a team-high eight sacks. As a team, New York was ranked 31st in sacks (26) this past season, so they could desperately use Muhammad’s pass-rushing prowess.

And lucky for them, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is familiar with Muhammad, as he worked with him in 2024. 

Also, New York has an overwhelming amount of cap space (estimated $91.1 million, per OverTheCap) to drive Muhammad’s price up, which wouldn’t benefit the Lions. Detroit is projected to be $9.6 million over the cap, so they’ll have to make some moves to even be in contention for him.

According to Spotrac, Muhammad’s calculated market value is a two-year, $15.7 million deal ($7.9 million average annual value), which isn’t terrible for an older pass rusher coming off a breakout season.

However, if that’s the going rate, which we know it will be higher, it benefits the Jets more than the Lions. And any other team runs a 4-3 defense and needs a pass rusher.

That said, if the Lions were to lose Muhammad to the Jets in free agency, they would need to be proactive in finding more than one guy to replace him. This means that general manager Brad Holmes will need to sign at least two free agents and then possibly draft a young pass rusher as well. The Lions cannot be in the same spot they were in 2025, and losing Muhammad would only enhance that.

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