The New York Jets are trying to turn a page in 2025.
After hiring head coach Aaron Glenn away from the Detroit Lions, the jets struck quickly adding Justin Fields to reset at quarterback following Aaron Rodgers’ pair of disappointing and woefully distracting seasons in new York.
However, while the Jets have yet to make many big splashes, so far, one of New York’s signings is already coming under fire.
According to ESPN’s Aaron Schatz, the Jets’ signing of cornerback Brandon Stephens is the most “head-scratching” move made across the league in the early stages of free agency.
“The Jets signing cornerback Brandon Stephens. Stephens ,” Schatz writes for ESPN. “Who got a three-year, $36 million deal — was the clear weakness in Baltimore’s secondary last season. Yes, cornerback stats are inconsistent from year to year, but he ranked 81st out of 92 qualifying cornerbacks in my coverage DVOA metric in 2024.”
It’s hard to imagine Stephens being an upgrade over consistent playmaker DJ Reed in the secondary, but, the 27-year-old lands in the Garden State fresh off allowing the fifth-fewest receptions among starting cornerbacks across the league last season.
How Stephens fits in Glenn’s system remains to be seen, but at least from a metrics standpoint, he looks like he could be a downgrade from the secondary the Jets fielded last season.
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