Micheal Clemons Rumor Shouldn't Shock Jets Fans After Polarizing Stint

Who will stay and who will go?

This will be a question hanging around the New York Jets over the next few months. It's still too early in the offseason for anything too crazy to happen. At this point, it's mainly bookkeeping, preparing for the upcoming National Football League Scouting Combine and also getting ready for the new league year in March.

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We're going to see free agency kick off in March and that's when all of the moves around the league will really begin. One guy for Jets fans to watch is defensive end Micheal Clemons. He had a polarizing four-year run in New York in which he flashed big talent at points, but also seemingly penalized left and right as well. Jets head coach Aaron Glenn backed him up early in the 2025 season when penalties were an issue.

He was someone talked about as a trade candidate this season, but didn't get moved. Now, he's heading to the open market. The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt ranked him as the team's seventh-best pending free agent, but didn't make it sound like he will be back.

Where will Micheal Clemons go?

Sep 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets defensive end Micheal Clemons (72) after the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

"No. 7. DE Micheal Clemons (age 28)," Rosenblatt wrote. "Before Jets fans get too upset: This is more about projecting how the rest of the league might view players in free agency. If the Jets re-sign Clemons, fans certainly won’t be happy. However, in reality, he wasn’t as bad as it seemed the past few seasons; he just received far too much playing time. He’s best suited as a rotational third or fourth defensive end, not someone playing as much as he did with the Jets: 54 percent of the snaps in 2024 (with 17 starts) and 55 percent in 2025.

"Yes, he lacks discipline, commits penalties at the worst times and has had some of the more confounding missed tackles. But Clemons also had 4.5 sacks in 2024 and 13 combined QB hits over the last two years. It’s conceivable that someone could talk themselves into Clemons having untapped potential because of his ridiculous frame and the past moments when he was kind of productive. [Robert Saleh] is known to have an affinity for him. Just don’t be surprised if Clemons gets more money in free agency than some might expect."

As the offseason kicks off, the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons are going to be teams to watch because Robert Saleh is now the head coach of the Titans and Jeff Ulbrich is the defensive coordinator of the Falcons. As the offseason has begun, multiple players have been linked to these franchises. In this scenario, Rosenblatt linked Clemons to Tennessee. Another guy is Quincy Williams, who has been linked to both.

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