Jets Miss Out on Ideal Free Agent in Key Area of Need Ahead of Training Camp

The Jets will have to look elsewhere to find competition on the offensive line.

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn speaks at a press conference during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last season, the New York Jets did everything in their power to give center Josh Myers a chance to earn the starting job. The former Green Bay Packer was signed to the team in free agency to compete with former second-round pick Joe Tippmann for the starting job.

In the end, no competition was needed. An injury to Alijah Vera-Tucker forced Tippmann to guard, and Myers was given the starting job anyway.

The results following that shift were...underwhelming for Myers. While his pass-blocking grade was considered average by Pro Football Focus (62.9), he finished the year as the league's second-worst center. Despite some quality free agents in the open market and the NFL Draft being available, the team opted to trust Myers and his dependability for another year.

That included a nice two-year, $11 million contract that they handed him in the final month of the 2025 season.

But it would be wise for the Jets to open a competition at center again, even if they want to focus on Myers as a starter. It wouldn't make sense otherwise.

Unfortunately, the top option for the team to target, Ethan Pocic, signed elsewhere. And it leaves them in a difficult spot.

Jets should look for competition at center

Ethan Pocic may be 30 years old and coming off a torn Achilles late in the 2025 season, but he was more than serviceable as a starter when he was healthy for the Cleveland Browns last year. Pro Football Focus graded the former second-round pick out of LSU as the 20th-best center out of 40.

Cleveland Browns center Ethan Pocic (55) walks off the field after the loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Huntington Bank Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While he could have been the perfect kind of free-agent pickup to instill competition at the center position, he signed a free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens on Friday afternoon, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Now, the Jets will need to focus heavily on getting Myers ready for the season.

There will be plenty of teams in need of center depth. Some, like the Ravens, could offer Pocic a chance to be their starter going into the 2026 regular season. That left a team like the Jets in a difficult spot simply because they weren't going to give him the job.

New York has a clear affinity for Myers. His consistency and leadership fit well within a young Jets line. But he was clearly the weak link of the group last season. The Jets cannot get caught up in preaching one level of competition for some positions, but ignoring it in others.

That's what they did at the quarterback position last year. They handed the keys over to Justin Fields without any sort of camp battle, even though Fields struggled mightily each practice. It sunk their season before it ever truly began.

Gang Green cannot make that same decision at center.

While the organization has missed out on Pocic, they should be willing to address some of the clear needs at center. Players like James Daniels, Graham Glasgow, and Ryan Bates are other options available to the Jets. They are all at the same talent level as Myers is.

If New York wanted to get the best players and put them in a position to succeed, competition would bring that out of them. And that should hit Myers as well. Whether the team loves him or not.