Rich CiminiMar 9, 2026, 01:33 PM ET

CloseRich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University.

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Attempting to bolster their lowly ranked defense, the New York Jets struck early and often in free agency, reaching agreements with linebacker Demario Davis and edge players Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare, sources told ESPN.

The Jets also agreed to terms with defensive tackle David Onyemata on a one-year, $10.5 million deal with $9.65 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network.

Earlier in the day, they acquired safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Miami Dolphins.

Davis, 37, agreed to a two-year, $22 million contract, including $15 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This will be Davis’ third stint with the Jets. The former Saints star was drafted by the Jets in 2012 and returned in 2017 before heading off to New Orleans, where he connected with current Jets coach Aaron Glenn.

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The Jets agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract with Ossai, including $22.5 million guaranteed, sources told Schefter. Enagbare’s deal is one year, $10 million, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Jets needed edge help after trading Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans for nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Ossai and Enagbare will join Will McDonald IV as their top edge players.

The Jets finished 31st in points allowed last season, prompting Glenn to fire coordinator Steve Wilks with three games remaining. Their new defensive coordinator is Brian Duker, but Glenn said he will call the defensive plays.

Davis, 37, is heading into his 15th NFL season. He said in January that he knew he would play in 2026 before last season even ended. It was the earliest he had made that decision in a long time.

Davis said his confidence in maintaining his high level of play came after he set a new career-high in tackles (143) for the second straight season.

Ossai, 25, started a career-high nine games in 2025 and was one of the Cincinnati Bengals‘ most productive pass rushers.

He had five sacks for the second straight season and saw an uptick in his advanced metrics. Ossai finished the season with 10.6% pressure rate and 12.1% pass rush win rate (ESPN metric powered by Next Gen Stats), which were both the best marks of his career.

Enagbare, 26, has played in all 68 games (21 starts) over the past four seasons for the Green Bay Packers since he entered the league as a fifth-round pick in 2022.

He became a regular starter late last season after the Packers lost Micah Parsons to a torn ACL in Week 15. In Green Bay’s playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, he played the most snaps (53) of any Packers defensive lineman and recorded four tackles.

Last season, he tied a career high with 39 tackles, including 16 solo stops. He had two sacks, six tackles for a loss and a career-high nine quarterback hits while also playing a key role on special teams.

Onyemata, 33, just completed his 10th season in the NFL and his third with the Atlanta Falcons. The Nigerian-born player started all 17 games and had 62 combined tackles, seven tackles for a loss and one sack.

The Falcons signed Onyemata in 2023 after he spent seven seasons with the division rival Saints. Onyemata had a career-high 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss in 2020 with the Saints, when Glenn was on the staff.

ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, Ben Baby, Rob Demovsky and Marc Raimondi contributed to this report.