Gang Green Nation
The Jets have gone from one of the oldest NFL rosters to one of the youngest
Suffice to say, the 2024 New York Jets were in a “win now” mode. Not only did they tie the fate of the franchise to one of the league’s oldest quarterbacks, the Jets also had significant experience and geriatric ages at key positions such as left tackle, right tackle, and inside linebacker.
The Jets have seemingly taken a different approach to team building this year. This trend began to take shape during the early days of free agency when the Jets typical approach of “sign old, once but no longer good veterans” was replaced with what I termed a lottery ticket approach. Gone were the days of trading for Aaron Rodgers, whose best days were behind him, and in were the days of signing Justin Fields and hoping his best days were yet to come.
This trend is clear looking at the current Jets roster. Just read the words of ESPN Jets beat reporter Rich Cimini.
While I don’t have data to support it, going from the 29th oldest to the 8th oldest team in the league sure seems like it would be one of the larger changes in rank that teams have managed to pull off in a single offseason in recent years. Whether that works out remains to be seen, but if any of the young players take hold then the Jets could potentially find some long-term starters that could hopefully lead the Jets into a period of quality football.
