Former Auburn standout ‘critical’ to the New York Jets’ offseason plans

When the 2024 NFL season started, the New York Jets had 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and 32-year-old C.J. Mosley at middle linebacker. When the 2025 campaign kicks off the Jets will have 26-year-old Justin Fields at quarterback and 25-year-old Jamien Sherwood at middle linebacker.

“It’s a young man’s game,” New York coach Aaron Glenn said this week while attending the NFL’s annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida. “And I was always taught that you can’t be afraid of the young player. So I think when you’re able to do it, you’re able to mold these guys into who you want them to be and what type of team you want to be. And I think me and (general manager Darren) ‘Moose’ (Mougey) did a really good job of trying to create that. I think every situation that we want to create when it comes to free agency, we hit as far as getting the quarterback that we want and getting the quarterback of the defense, trying to make this team younger, so we’re looking forward to these young guys going off that plan.”

The Jets did not try to re-sign Rodgers, but signed Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract as a free agent after he started six games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. After keeping Sherwood out of free agency with a three-year, $45 million contract extension, New York released Mosley.

“One of the priorities going in was to address the quarterback situation, really on both sides of the ball,” Mougey said at the annual meeting. “Obviously, we feel good about what we did there with Justin, and then talking about the quarterback on defense, Jamien Sherwood wearing the green dot. It’s always nice when you can keep one of your own in free agency, so we were able to do that.”

Sherwood got his first chance to play regularly with the Jets defense during the 2024 season. He responded by leading the NFL with 98 solo tackles, and the Jets didn’t let the former Auburn safety get away in free agency.

“Really, really good communicator,” Glenn said of Sherwood. “He can run, he has coverage ability, and you just watch him on tape. And the way that he talks and reacts to all the players around him, and the way the players react to him, it lets you know he is a true quarterback of a defense, and we want to make sure we have that on defense, so getting him was critical for us to continue to build this defense.”

New York chose Sherwood in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the intention of converting him to linebacker. Sherwood spent his first three seasons as a protégé of Mosley, a five-time Pro Bowler who starred at Theodore High School and Alabama.

An injury limited Sherwood to five games as a rookie, but he played in every game in 2022 and 2023, when he was on the field for 219 defensive snaps and 729 special-teams plays.

In 2024, injuries limited Mosley to four games and 110 defensive snaps.

Sherwood stepped into the breach with 1,065 defensive snaps. He recorded 158 total tackles and won the Jets’ Curtis Martin Award as the team’s Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season.