At the trade deadline, the Jets subtracted a player from an area of strength and kept all players from an area of discontent.
The Jets’ only move by 4 p.m. Tuesday entailed dealing defensive end Jacob Martin to the Broncos in exchange for a pick swap. The Jets will get a fourth-round pick in 2024 and will lose their 2024 fifth-round pick.
Joe Douglas did not trade Elijah Moore or Denzel Mims, talented receivers who have requested to be shipped out. The general manager did not upgrade an offensive line that has been hit hard by injuries. Douglas’ largest move actually occurred a week earlier, when he traded for running back James Robinson after Breece Hall was lost for the season.
With the apparent heavy lifting done last week, Douglas traded Martin, a rotation player who was signed to a three-year, $15.5 million pact this offseason. Martin had 1.5 sacks in eight games as part of a deep defensive end group.
Bryce Huff has excelled behind starters Carl Lawson and John Franklin-Myers, and first-round pick Jermaine Johnson, who had been dealing with an ankle injury before he was inactive Sunday, should find playing time with Martin moved.
“[The trade] was an opportunity to add some flexibility moving forward with a higher draft pick and get some of these guys a few more reps in games,” Douglas, speaking publicly for the first time since Aug. 31, said over Zoom.
The 5-3 Jets sold a piece but not the ones they were pressured to sell. Mims asked for a trade in August and still has shown up and played. Moore’s request arrived less than two weeks ago, as the 2021 second-round pick has not been a big part of Zach Wilson’s offense.
Douglas said he recently talked one-on-one with Moore.
“We love Elijah. We all stood on the table to take him high in the second round last year, and we think the world of him,” Douglas said of Moore, of whom he took “some calls” about but did not want to trade. “We think he’s got a bright future as a New York Jet.”
Moore and Mims would be happier if Wilson, who has mostly struggled in five games, can feed them the ball. But Douglas put the onus on Saleh and the coaching staff to ensure the unhappy wideouts can bounce back in mindset at least.
“We always have open and honest communication and lay out expectations, and I feel like Coach Saleh and his staff — no one does that better,” Douglas said.
The Jets’ lone addition was Robinson, a pickup from the Jaguars, who is “a really good football player, a really good person,” Douglas said.
The Jets did not help their offensive line, which has lost tackle Mekhi Becton (knee) and the versatile Alijah Vera-Tucker (triceps) for the season, as well as tackle Max Mitchell (knee) and tackle George Fant (knee) for the moment.
Mitchell, who has been out since Week 4, and Fant, injured since Week 3, could be back within a few weeks. In the meantime, Douglas has been happy with the fill-ins.
“Having a guy like Nate Herbig step up and play football at right guard,” Douglas said of a player claimed from the Eagles. “Cedric Ogbuehi, he’s come in from Houston’s practice squad and played good football. A guy like Mike Remmers, who has played a ton of meaningful games.
“We feel like we have really good depth along the offensive line.”
So the Jets’ offensive line was untouched, their running back group was reinforced last week and their defensive line lost a piece, though the team hopes its depth will compensate.
At the onset of the season, Douglas said the goal was to play meaningful games “down the stretch.” After eight weeks, that seems likely.
“I feel like we’ve set ourselves up to play important games, and that’s a credit to Coach [Robert Saleh] and it’s a credit to the players,” Douglas said before the Jets host the Bills on Sunday. “But we all know the challenge in front of us. We know the schedule is not getting easier.”
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