All eyes in Florham Park, N.J. are on the 2026 offseason.<\/p>\n
The fledgling New York Jets will attempt to build up their barren roster from a point so low that it can\u2019t even be called the bottom of the barrel; they\u2019ve cut through to beneath the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
While the Jets\u2019 3-11 record says enough on its own, it actually oversells the strength of New York\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n
Through 14 games of the 2025 season, the Jets have been outscored by 123 points despite facing one of the league\u2019s weaker schedules. Their Simple Rating System (SRS), a metric that adjusts point differential for strength of schedule, is -10.5, ranking 31st in the NFL (ahead of only the Las Vegas Raiders) and on pace to rank fourth-worst in Jets history.<\/p>\n
In fact, even that oversells the state of the Jets\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n
The Jets have benefited mightily from one of the greatest special teams units in NFL history<\/a>. When looking solely at their performance on offense and defense, they are on track to finish as one of the worst NFL teams of all time<\/a>. Their combined offensive and defensive DVOA is -40.4%, which would currently be the 10th-worst single-season mark since the stat was first tracked in 1978. It\u2019s the NFL\u2019s worst mark in 2025 and would be the worst mark in Jets history by a wide margin.<\/p>\n Simply put, the Jets are bad. Really bad.<\/p>\n That means they will need as many assets as possible to have a chance of rebuilding their team into anything remotely resembling a playoff contender.<\/p>\n Fortunately, their future looks bright in that regard.<\/p>\n Jets\u2019 2026 cap space projection<\/p>\n According to Over The Cap, the Jets are projected to have $95.1 million in cap space in 2026, ranking fourth in the NFL as of December 19.<\/p>\n Tennessee Titans: $106.8M<\/p>\n Las Vegas Raiders: $105.1M<\/p>\n Los Angeles Chargers: $101.7M<\/p>\n New York Jets: $95.1M<\/p>\n Washington Commanders: $81.9M<\/p>\n Los Angeles Rams: $81.4M<\/p>\n Seattle Seahawks: $71.2M<\/p>\n Cincinnati Bengals: $69.6M<\/p>\n New England Patriots: $48.0M<\/p>\n Indianapolis Colts: $47.6M<\/p>\n This number recently took a slight dip due to the Jets\u2019 contract extensions for center Josh Myers<\/a> (two years, $11M) and tight end Jeremy Ruckert<\/a> (two years, $10M).<\/p>\n Myers will have a $4.3 million cap hit in 2026, which dropped the Jets down from their recent projection of $99.4 million. The details of Ruckert\u2019s contract remain unknown, so his extension has yet to affect OTC\u2019s projection, but the number will drop another few million once those details are reported.<\/p>\n The only downside to the Jets\u2019 2026 cap projection is that they do not have much wiggle room to add space. Only one player on the roster can be released to yield over $2 million in savings: defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who would yield $7.5 million in savings and zero dead money if released.<\/p>\n Outside of Phillips, the Jets do not have any cuttable players who would yield more than slightly above $1 million if released. That includes starting quarterback Justin Fields, who, if released, would generate just $1 million in savings while still counting for $22 million in dead money on the Jets\u2019 cap.<\/p>\n The lack of flexibility means that New York\u2019s cap projection won\u2019t look as promising relative to the rest of the NFL once March rolls around. Nearly every team in the league will have more flexibility to open up cap space, so it\u2019s possible that multiple teams could surpass the Jets\u2019 cap space, or at least inch closer to them.<\/p>\n Still, even with Myers and Ruckert\u2019s extensions and a lack of cuttable players, the Jets are projected to have over $90 million in cap space. It\u2019s currently on track to rank fourth-best in the NFL and is unlikely to drop too much lower. Perhaps Washington (projected $81.9M) and the L.A. Rams ($81.4M) could close the gap, but the Jets are almost $24 million ahead of seventh-ranked Seattle.<\/p>\n It leaves the Jets in an ideal position to plug their roster holes with veteran free agents who can raise the short-term floor, helping the team inch back toward at least playing meaningful football in December as Aaron Glenn attempts to build up the culture. Meanwhile, New York will use their plethora of draft picks to fortify the roster\u2019s long-term nucleus.<\/p>\n