Of course, this article is not intended to suggest the Jets should be criticized if they do not sign these players\u2014it goes without saying that they cannot sign any free agent they\u2019d like. It takes two to tango. This article is simply intended to identify some of the free agent targets who make the most sense for New York in terms of value and scheme fit.<\/p>\n
Here is our vision for the Jets\u2019 dream free agency plan. This plan was crafted using $83.7 million as the Jets\u2019 cap space number. They have $73.7 million as of March 8, per Spotrac, and if New York releases Justin Fields with a post-June 1 designation, that number increases by $10 million to $83.7 million.<\/p>\n
C Tyler Linderbaum<\/p>\n
Contract: 4 years, $76 million ($51 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n
2026 cap hit: $10 million<\/p>\n
Cap space remaining: $73.7 million<\/p>\n
Center is a need for the Jets. In 2025, Josh Myers rated as the league\u2019s second-worst center among 34 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n
With an abundance of cap space and a gaping hole at center, why not splurge on a man who many consider to be the league\u2019s most talented young center? Linderbaum is already a three-time Pro Bowler before turning 26, making him one of only six centers in NFL history to accomplish the feat.<\/p>\n
The Jets make Tyler Linderbaum the game\u2019s richest center to drastically upgrade the weakest position on their offensive line.<\/p>\n
G David Edwards<\/p>\n
Contract: 3 years, $36 million ($24 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n
2026 cap hit: $6 million<\/p>\n
Cap space remaining: $67.7 million<\/p>\n
The primary goal of this free agency plan is to take a promising offensive line and catapult it to the league\u2019s absolute best for years to come. Having a solid offensive line is nice, but having an elite one changes everything for an organization.<\/p>\n
There is no better foundation to anchor a rebuilding football team than the offensive line. Every other position on offense can only be as good as the offensive line allows them to be. There isn\u2019t another unit on the football field that has as great an effect on the rest of the team.<\/p>\n
So, yes, the Jets have already invested quite a bit into their offensive line, and it is already in a decent spot. But if there is one position that the rebuilding Jets should go all-in on, it\u2019s this one\u2014especially in a free agent class that doesn\u2019t have much to write home about at other positions.<\/p>\n
Edwards has a Super Bowl-winning pedigree as the Rams\u2019 starting guard for all 21 of their regular season and playoff games in 2021. This past season in Buffalo, he was ranked as the league\u2019s eighth-best pass-blocking left guard and eighth-best run-blocking right guard by PFF.<\/p>\n
He is a nasty run blocker on inside run plays, which would play well<\/a> in a division where the Jets have to go through New England\u2019s Super Bowl-caliber interior run defense.<\/p>\n From left to right, the Jets\u2019 offensive line would feature Olu Fashanu, David Edwards, Tyler Linderbaum, Joe Tippmann, and Armand Membou. At last, the Jets would be ready to insert a quarterback into a situation where he\u2019d be lifted up by his supporting cast, rather than being asked to put the team on his shoulders.<\/p>\n DE John Franklin-Myers<\/p>\n Contract: 2 years, $30 million ($23 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $14 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $53.7 million<\/p>\n Hitting the market at 29 years old after two underpaid seasons in Denver, John Franklin-Myers will be after the almighty dollar sign. That gives the Jets a chance to lure him back<\/a> despite the team\u2019s previous regime trading him away two years ago.<\/p>\n New York gives Franklin-Myers a generous, front-loaded salary with a high guaranteed money percentage over two years. It gives Aaron Glenn a versatile defensive lineman who will fit perfectly in his 3-4 base defense. Franklin-Myers has the size that Glenn covets in his edge defenders on early downs, while he can kick inside and provide pass-rush juice on third downs.<\/p>\n WR Deebo Samuel<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $10 million ($10 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $5 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $48.7 million<\/p>\n There will be quite a few one-year contracts in this plan. These contracts will generally have the cap hit split between two years.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a strategy that Darren Mougey utilized last year. Take free agent signing Andre Cisco. The safety signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal, but the cap hit was spread between $4.5 million in 2025 and $4 million in 2026.<\/p>\n Deebo Samuel\u2019s days as a star are behind him, but he fills a role in the Jets\u2019 offense as the gadget weapon. Frank Reich calls screens at a high rate<\/a>, so they need someone who is proficient on those plays. Samuel can still do that, even if his all-around game has declined.<\/p>\n In 2025, Samuel ranked sixth among wide receivers with 17 missed tackles forced and eighth with 471 yards after the catch.<\/p>\n QB Kyler Murray<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $8 million ($10 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $4 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $44.7 million<\/p>\n If the Jets want to have a realistic chance of competing for a .500 record in 2026, they need to get Kyler Murray<\/a>. Between free agency, the trade market, and the draft, he is the only available quarterback who is likely to provide a floor of at least league-average play.<\/p>\n Many prognosticators expect Murray, who will soon be released by the Arizona Cardinals, to sign a one-year deal for the veteran minimum.<\/p>\n Murray is already slated to earn $36.8 million in remaining guarantees from Arizona, so he is not incentivized to maximize his earnings on the 2026 free agent market. His priority is to find the best landing spot to resurrect his career.<\/p>\n That puts the Jets at a disadvantage compared to other teams that may pursue Murray, like the Minnesota Vikings. New York may not be able to land Murray if even they\u2019d like to.<\/p>\n For that reason, I have the Jets sweetening their offer well past the veteran minimum to convince Murray to choose them over more appealing landing spots.<\/p>\n Not to mention, I think the Jets are more appealing to Murray than many think. His route tendencies make him a good fit in Frank Reich\u2019s scheme. Murray thrives in the short-to-intermediate part of the field, which is the basis of Reich\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n Route type tendencies (% of pass att.) of Frank Reich’s 2021-23 teams vs. Kyler Murray’s 2024 season (his career-best year in QBR)<\/p>\n Pretty similar\u2026 both lean toward the short\/intermediate game with deep shots being rare<\/p>\n I think it’s a better fit than many believe pic.twitter.com\/xKVch0wVJ7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) March 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Playing with Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall is a luxury for any quarterback, while the Jets\u2019 offensive line additions in this plan make New York a place where Murray will feel good about his protection.<\/p>\n With a sweetener to Murray\u2019s 2026 earnings along with two big additions to the offensive line, the Jets might be able to convince him to pivot away from a team like Minnesota to the sneakily impressive supporting cast that awaits in New York.<\/p>\n CB Taron Johnson<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $8 million ($8 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $4 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $40.7 million<\/p>\n Recently released by the Bills, veteran slot corner Taron Johnson can still cover at a high level<\/a>, and he\u2019s appealing to New York because of his familiarity with a division rival.<\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s previous contract averaged $10.3 million per year, and he signed that deal in the heart of his prime. Given that he was just released from this contract, an $8 million deal for one year seems generous enough to lure Johnson to New York despite the Jets\u2019 non-contender status.<\/p>\n The Jets have to pay a tax to lure free agents in\u2014it is what it is.<\/p>\n LB Alex Anzalone<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $7 million ($7 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $3.5 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $37.2 million<\/p>\n Alex Anzalone spent the first eight years of his career alongside Aaron Glenn in New Orleans and Detroit. The veteran linebacker is still a solid starter, and he\u2019s the perfect leader to help Glenn integrate his scheme with a young team.<\/p>\n S Andrew Wingard<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $6 million ($6 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $3 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $34.2 million<\/p>\n Aaron Glenn\u2019s scheme demands two starting safeties with distinct skill sets: a box enforcer and a rangy deep safety.<\/p>\n Andrew Wingard can fill the latter role. In his Jaguars career, Wingard performed well when given the opportunity to play most of his snaps as a deep safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n His overall numbers weren\u2019t great last year, which will lower his market value, but Wingard can thrive in a Jets scheme that lets him spend most of his time as a deep safety, allowing the Jets to get some great bang for their buck.<\/p>\n S Jabrill Peppers<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $3 million ($3 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $1.5 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $32.7 million<\/p>\n Filling the box safety role in Glenn\u2019s scheme is Jabrill Peppers. The veteran has almost transitioned to a quasi-linebacker in the latter stages of his career, and he will come on the cheap after playing a minimal role for Pittsburgh in 2025, but he is exactly what Glenn needs.<\/p>\n Peppers is still an excellent run defender and tackler<\/a>, and that\u2019s what the Jets need out of their strong safety.<\/p>\n WR Jahan Dotson<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $2.5 million ($2.5 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $2.5 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $30.2 million<\/p>\n The 2022 first-round pick will still be only 26 years old as he enters his fourth season. Jahan Dotson did not get much of an opportunity to showcase himself in Philadelphia over the last two seasons, as he was buried behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but there were flashes.<\/p>\n This is a low-cost dice-roll on potential at the wide receiver position.<\/p>\n LB Micah McFadden<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $2 million ($2 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $2 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $28.2 million<\/p>\n The Jets need speed in the back end of their defense to keep up in a division where they have to play nearly a quarter of their games against Josh Allen and Drake Maye.<\/p>\n Micah McFadden can provide that speed at a low cost. He\u2019ll be cheap after missing nearly all of 2025 with an ankle injury (along with generally being a middling overall player before that), but McFadden is a young linebacker (26) with top-tier athleticism. He had a 9.46 Relative Athletic Score coming out of Indiana in 2022.<\/p>\n That has translated to the field at the NFL level. As a 14-game starter for the Giants in 2024, McFadden ranked sixth among linebackers with 15 \u201chustle stops\u201d (tackles in which the player traveled at least 20 yards after the snap).<\/p>\n Taking a flier on McFadden after a significant injury makes a lot of sense for the Jets, given their need at the linebacker position and their general need for speed across the entire defense.<\/p>\n Re-signings<\/p>\n G John Simpson<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $6 million ($6 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $3 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $25.2 million<\/p>\n Simpson returns as the primary backup guard and a valuable veteran leader for the Jets\u2019 offensive line.<\/p>\n K Nick Folk<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $4.5 million ($4.5 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $2.5 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $22.7 million<\/p>\n Ponying up for Nick Folk should be a no-brainer after the season he had in 2025. Ride him until the wheels fall off.<\/p>\n LB Mykal Walker<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $2.2 million ($1.1 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $1.1 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $21.6 million<\/p>\n Mykal Walker was a core piece of the Jets\u2019 elite special teams unit and an underrated standout on defense<\/a> down the stretch.<\/p>\n FB\/TE Andrew Beck<\/p>\n Contract: 1 year, $1.5 million ($1.5 million guaranteed)<\/p>\n 2026 cap hit: $1.5 million<\/p>\n Cap space remaining: $20.1 million<\/p>\n
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