The New York Jets haven’t exactly been a model for anyone to follow in recent NFL history. This is a team that has been trying to get back on track for a really long time, and with the trajectory they showed they were on last season combined with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers, I think there’s reason to believe they are undoubtedly back on track.
But a lengthy history of poor decisions from the front office to the coaching staff and on down to player personnel has caused the Jets to hold the NFL’s longest active playoff drought. They have the eighth-worst record in the league since 2000 and giving up on players before they should have has been part of the problem.
Although there are many different examples, let’s look at five players, in particular, the New York Jets gave up on way too soon.
5 players the New York Jets gave up on way too early
5. Geno Smith, Quarterback
Yes, Geno Smith had just one really good year for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. The New York Jets had to live with some truly tough years from Smith back when he was originally drafted by them in 2013 out of West Virginia. Smith fell to the second round of that year’s draft somewhat inexplicably considering it was a weak quarterback class to begin with.
Geno came into the NFL and started right away for the Jets, throwing a whopping 34 interceptions and fumbling the ball 16 times in his first 30 NFL games (29 starts). It’s justifiable in that regard that the New York Jets moved on from him, especially when you consider the fact that they won 10 games in 2015 when Todd Bowles took over for Rex Ryan as the team’s head coach.
Yes, Geno Smith struggled a lot as a young quarterback. Yes, the New York Jets kept him through his rookie contract. But it was clear after his second NFL season that the Jets — and pretty much everyone else — had written off Geno as anything other than a potential quality backup. The Seattle Seahawks gave him an opportunity this past year and he won NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
We’ll see what he does as a follow-up act in 2023, but for the time being, it looks like Geno Smith is another one that got away for the Jets. At least the Jets can say they drafted a Pro Bowl QB.
4. John Riggins, Running Back
John Riggins is a legendary NFL running back and everybody knows him as no. 44 for the Washington franchise. But before Riggins was racking up 24 rushing touchdowns at the ripe age of 34, he actually spent the first five years of his NFL career as a member of the New York Jets.
He was a finalist for Rookie of the Year in 1971 and made the Pro Bowl in his fifth NFL season, but the Jets let him go after that fifth season and he joined Washington. It wasn’t until Riggins was 29 years old that he really started blossoming as a superstar. Even after missing the entire 1980 season, Riggins finished his NFL career with over 13,000 yards from scrimmage. He also helped Washington win a Super Bowl and he finished with 12 touchdowns in the eight playoff games he played in the 1980s.
3. Santana Moss, Wide Receiver
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, the Miami Hurricanes football program was cranking out seemingly one NFL legend after another. The New York Jets jumped on the bandwagon in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft and selected star receiver Santana Moss. Moss was limited to just five games in his rookie season and had only 30 receptions in his second year in the league.
It wasn’t until year three that Moss really broke out with 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns. His production took a step back in 2004, and the New York Jets made the decision to send him off in a trade during the 2005 offseason to Washington.
The Jets acquired wide receiver Laveranues Coles, who had a couple of really solid seasons in Washington after starting out his NFL career with the Jets anyway. The Jets drafted Coles in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft, so they had already had both Coles and Moss on the same roster.
After being traded to Washington, Santana Moss became one of the most productive receivers in franchise history, racking up three 1,000-yard seasons and scoring 47 touchdowns in 126 total games for them.
2. Demario Davis, linebacker
Demario Davis is one of the biggest unsung heroes of the NFL today. He’s one of the most underrated defensive players in the league and a secret superstar if there ever was one. The Jets took Davis in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Arkansas State and he had a pretty outstanding first four years in the league with them.
Davis became a full-time starter by his second NFL season and averaged 110 total tackles for the next three years. The Jets let him go in 2016 to the Browns, got him back in 2017 via trade and he had a whopping 15 QB hits from the off-ball linebacker position that year. How did the Jets let this guy get away twice?
Even after drafting and developing him, letting him get away, then trading to re-acquire him, the Jets let Davis leave for New Orleans in 2018 where he’s become a four-time All-Pro in the last four seasons. Ouch.
1. John Abraham, Defensive end
The New York Jets had probably felt like they’d done a good job of getting the most out of their initial investment in John Abraham. They invested a first-round pick in him in the 2000 NFL Draft and he gave them 53.5 sacks and 55 tackles for loss along with 19 forced fumbles in his first six NFL seasons.
Atlanta used a first-round pick they had acquired from the Denver Broncos to trade for John Abraham, and he became one of the most successful defensive players in the history of the Falcons organization. Over the next seven seasons, he had 115 QB hits, 68.5 sacks, 79 tackles for loss, and 24 forced fumbles. He made multiple All-Pro rosters and his fourth Pro Bowl as a member of the Falcons.
Luckily, that trade also worked out for the Jets, who used the pick they got from the Falcons on Nick Mangold, one of the best linemen in franchise history.