3 Jets Free Agents Who Could Still Re-Sign With New York

Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor takes the field before a game. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With the 2026 NFL Draft looming, NFL free agency has suddenly come to a halt as the New York Jets and the other 31 teams are finalizing their draft boards in hopes of finding multiple Week 1 contributors.

The Jets will be quite busy during the NFL’s three-day extravaganza as they have nine picks to work with. However, after the draft commences, the team will be looking to fill out the rest of the 90-man roster with undrafted and veteran free agents. 

In fact, some of those FAs could be players who played on the Jets last season. At this stage of the offseason, New York can’t be picky and should be open to a few players returning to compete for a roster spot in 2026. The Jets can’t use cap space as a reason not to sign more free agents, given that they have $39.5 million in space, per Over the Cap.

Tyrod Taylor among free agents that could return to the Jets for 2026 season

1. Tyrod Taylor, QB

Let’s get the most obvious free agent out of the way in Taylor, who could come back for another year with the Jets.

The 36-year-old just wrapped up his second season with the Jets, where he surprisingly played in six games and made four starts. Taylor likely didn’t have on his bingo card that he would be starting games for the Jets last season, but the QB carousel was revolving door after the Justin Fields era imploded.

The veteran signal caller completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 779 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. Taylor also showed that he still has some mobility, too, rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.

Looking at the Jets’ current QB room, one could make the argument that there’s no room for Taylor since they have Geno Smith locked in as the starter, plus Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe. And there’s the small possibility that the Jets take a quarterback in this year’s draft class, given they have nine selections.

However, in the case that they don’t draft a guy, or even if they do, it's not feasible to think that Taylor wouldn’t be one of the best quarterbacks in that room with his wealth of knowledge. Earlier this month, Connor Hughes of SNY.tv reported that Taylor is “beloved within the locker room” and “he’s not necessarily going to push for the starting job.”

And if you’re the Jets, it wouldn’t be the worst case to have Taylor backing up Smith in case he were to go down with an injury.

2. Tyler Johnson, WR

Jets wide receiver Tyler Johnson celebrates after scoring a touchdown. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Jets’ wide receiver room is a who's who after Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell. It’s a position that the team will likely address in the NFL draft as they did not sign a wideout in free agency, or haven’t traded for one.

If they’re looking to add depth and competition for the room, they should be open to bringing back Tyler Johnson. He isn’t the most explosive wideout, but catches almost everything thrown to him, and has somehow stuck in the league for six years as a Day 3 pick.

Johnson joined the Jets last offseason, but didn’t make the team out of training camp. But New York liked what they saw and brought him back on the practice squad. The Jets elevated him to the active from the practice squad before their Week 1 matchup against the Steelers, where he had two receptions (two targets) for 31 yards on 33 offensive snaps.

After that game, the Jets signed him to the active roster for the remainder of the season. The 6’1” wideout appeared in 12 games (five starts), racking up 12 receptions (18 targets) for 197 yards and a touchdown. Johnson scored his only TD of the season in the Jets’ thrilling Week 8 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, where he also had three receptions (five targets) for 64 yards.

If you’re the Jets’ brass, there’s no harm in bringing back Johnson on a one-year deal to see if he can compete for one of the WR5/6 jobs on the roster. 

3. Khalil Herbert, RB

Herbert is in the same position as Johnson. The Jets don’t need to bring him back as their RB room is pretty much set with Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, and Kene Nwangwu. But it wouldn’t be the worst idea to have more depth for offseason workouts and training camp, and they might be able to get him on the practice squad.

The veteran running back joined the Jets in October of last season after Allen was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

The ex-Bears running back wasn’t super impressive in his short stint with the Jets (52 yards on 16 carries, 3.3 yards per carry), but they need someone to help shoulder the workload in the backfield behind Hall.

Herbert also played some special teams snaps for the Jets, which is not out of the ordinary, as he did at his previous stops in Cincinnati and Chicago. He’s still fairly young at 27 years old and doesn’t have that much mileage on his tires (416), so he could be someone the Jets give a call in the lead-up to training camp.