Jets' moves ahead of trade deadline lay groundwork for future - ESPN

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Quinnen Williams called it. Nine months ago, his seven-word post on X foreshadowed the outcome of the New York Jets' season.

«Another rebuild year for me I guess.»

It was his immediate reaction to the news that quarterback Aaron Rodgers had been fired by new coach Aaron Glenn, who needed only about 10 minutes on the job before making the move.

Team officials downplayed the notion of a rebuild, but the reality came crashing through Tuesday with the blockbuster trades of Williams and Sauce Gardner, popular cornerstone players under contract through 2027 and 2030, respectively.

They were supposed to be part of the Jets' future, but now they join an ever-growing list of former Jets stars traded away in the prime of their careers — safety Jamal Adams (2020), cornerback Darrelle Revis (2013), linebacker Jonathan Vilma (2008), edge rusher John Abraham (2006) and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson (2000).

They were jettisoned in the name of rebuilding, with new coaches and/or new general managers looking for franchise-altering draft capital to do what their predecessors had failed to accomplish:

Get the team to a Super Bowl.

The drought is 57 years and counting. The last time — the only time — the Jets made it was 1969, before man had walked on the moon.

And so now Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey are taking a Shohei Ohtani-like swing, tacitly acknowledging this 1-7 season is hopeless and that the roster is in worse shape than they anticipated when they took over in the offseason.

«I wouldn't call it a teardown,» Mougey told reporters late Tuesday, insisting he expects the team to remain competitive.

Gardner and Williams were the Jets' two best defensive players, and now they're gone, dealt to the