Are Jets finally trending in the right direction?
Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss Breece Hall's new contract with the Jets and explain why things could finally be turning around for New York after years of dysfunction.
Video Transcript
Wednesday edition of PFT Live, Breece Hall, Jets running back, signed a new deal last week.
Met with the media for the first time since getting the deal that is reportedly worth 45.75 million with 29 million guaranteed.
Gives him the third highest new money average per year among all running backs behind Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley.
and I, I still am surprised it happened.
And we talked about this the other day.
It could be as simple as new offensive coordinator Frank Reich showing up and saying to anyone who would listen, "Why is this guy not signed?
No, we're not gonna do the transition tag.
We gotta do the franchise tag.
We can't let this guy go.
This guy is the straw that stirs the drink.
If we want to do anything offensively, this is the guy."
And I know in theory you can find running backs anywhere.
You can go draft a guy in round five and maybe he'll end up being No.
We have a guy who we have been impressed with, who is a big part of the offense, and he's not part of the problem.
We got many problems- Yeah with this organization.
Yeah.
He's not one of them.
No.
Yeah, exactly right.
I mean, I, I still look at it as a bargain.
That, that's how I look at it.
You know, again, it's a, it's a, again, another thing that I think you put a spotlight on the running back market to go, wait, wait, wait, wait.
We're talking about, ooh, it's a big deal for the best player on the Jets offense.
The best player.
The best player.
The number one running back.
The best running back maybe in the division.
He's one of the, one of the top ones in football.
He was third in the le- third on the team in receiving.
Had as many receptions as Garrett Wilson, who's gonna be making more than double the amount of money Breece Hall is, right?
So to me, the, the, I, I got, you know, no problem with this spending money for this guy.
thi- this is a special football player.
And I think on top of that, like, this is like one of the guys we talk about all the time.
It's anywhere, anytime.
You don't know.
He can score from anywhere.
There, there's very few of those people in football.
Throw a screen on your own five-yard line, he can go 95, right?
You know, five yards up the middle, he can run you over and get a touchdown that way.
I mean, he, you know, toss, crack around the edge.
And then you couple that with Frank Reich and his ability to design plays to push the ball down the field, I think it's really gonna put teams in a bind.
And you gotta think, yeah, with that offensive line and some of the talent and young talent they got there, that they're gonna have some potential to run the ball.
So that to me is where it was a no-brainer, and it's just a little crazy still sometimes when you talk about it and say it out loud, and you go, "Wait, the best player on a National Football League team on the offensive side of the ball in fantasy world is making 15 million?"
That It's kinda crazy, really.
and I feel for these running backs, but good for Breece Hall to get at least something here.
Here he is from his press conference regarding the new contract on living up to the deal that the Jets have rewarded him with.
I feel like I'm the only running back that's consistently a top 10 back in the league that's not in a No, that hasn't, in the past, been in, always in a most ideal situation.
So I feel like now, you know, AG and Mooch, like, you know, I feel like they really put me in position with all the guys we brought in and the team we're building around us to really flourish and for me to really be myself.
So, you know, God willing, you know, we stay healthy and everything, and everything goes as planned, I feel like this could be my best season for sure.
Remember what Harrison Phillips said after his one year with the New York Jets.
He was traded by the Vikings just before the start of the regular season.
He talked about how toxic it was.
So many guys that just, they have this mindset, same old Jets, and they have deliberately made an effort to bring in veteran leadership to try to turn that around.
And you've been saying for years, they have too many young players there who feel like they have a license to say whatever they want- Yeah whenever they want.
Mm-hmm.
It is devoid of leadership.
They need veteran leadership to get these guys to not do it.
And the players need to respond to the veteran leadership.
You know, that's one of the things that doesn't get discussed very much about Aaron Rodgers' time with the Jets.
They rolled out the red carpet for him.
They welcomed him into the locker room.
By the time it was over, there were reports that Garrett Wilson wanted out if Rodgers would've been back- Yeah for the 2025 season.
Well, that- That's how bad it got.
Yeah.
So- Remember he, he made a comment about- May- you know the offense being better with Zach Wilson's, you know, or thereabouts, you know, roughly whatever, at the end of the, at the end of that year, which was crazy, right?
Well, and that just shows you that they need the leadership, and Breece Hall, a young guy who's emerging into And now that he's got that contract, he's got the, the authority to become one of the leaders.
You know, the And, and, and I know that this is one of the realities of the off-season, where everybody's zero and zero, and we come up with reasons to, to find hope.
And, and I don't wanna become the Teletubbies version of the NFL, where we're saying everything is awesome and everybody's got a, you know, got a Super Bowl in their immediate future.
But the Jets, it's been a long time since they've been competitive.
Yeah.
And there is at least reason to convince yourself it could be better this year or next year.
Yeah.
And generally a lot better than it's been for the Jets.
As long as Woody stays out of the way.
Just keep Woody out of the way.
Just find something to occupy Woody with and let the football professionals handle the team.
And no, you know, teenage sons, and who knows how old they are now, with Madden input.
Not No, no, no.
Separate that and let the football people do their thing, and maybe you have a chance.
Yeah.
I, I, I, I, I You know, you're saying it right, at least that, in my view.
I mean, one, you know, to, to, to echo what you were talking about, ha- they haven't been relevant, right, since that Todd Bowles, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall year, right?
Have we even Have they had any relevancy in the month of December since then?
I don't think so, right?
They didn't make the playoffs then.
Yeah, even then.
They didn't make the playoffs then.
But that Yeah.
But at least they were relevant in the conversation.
And, and since then, it's not even freaking close.
Now, this is the first year in a while I think you can look at it and go, "Hmm, there's, there's some light at the end of the tunnel.
"Like you said, if you look at teams and go, "Hey," teams that didn't make the playoffs or teams who are in the, that were in the bottom of the barrel last year that you could see maybe getting up to fringe playoff, pain in the butt.
Yeah, the Jets are one of those teams you look at to go, "They, they got possibility there."
They do.
You know?
And I, I think it is because of the moves, I think some of the leadership they'll have.
And again, like we've talked about, Frank Reich being on the offensive side's gonna be great.
Aaron Glenn will be able to focus more on the defense.
And I think the big thing is they have more guys that fit the way they wanna play, not only from the leadership standpoint, but, you know, Robert Saleh and that team was based on speed and smaller guys, and we wanna play that way.
Aaron Glenn came from Detroit, and that school of thinking.
Bill Parcells, it just when in doubt, we want the bigger guy.
That's what we want.
And now they got more of that on their roster.
So I think with all those things, yes, the Jets have a chance to, you're, like you're saying, they have a chance to be relevant at least in the conversation in December.
but as we've hit, I think now five years in a row, you and me, c- c- can they get a schedule that gives them hope?
They've had the toughest They've It feels like they've had a s- they've won the Super Bowl and have had that type of schedule the last five years.
Where we've looked at it and come in on a Friday after the schedule release and gone, "Oh my gosh, the Jets have the hardest first five games out of anybody in football."
I think we've almost said that five, six years in a row.
Can they get a reprieve here and get some confidence early in the year to then build on that as we talk about so important, let's see if that can happen for them this year.
I remember two years ago they had that schedule that had them all over the place, two short week games- Murderer's row the first three weeks.
Yeah.
All because they owed us, because Aaron Ro- Yeah, yeah.
How dare you, Aaron Rodgers- tear your Achilles tendon?
Right.
You owe us now.
Right.
You owe us.
Yeah.
but that's part of what they look at, and maybe one of the reason why Aaron Rodgers is waiting until after the schedule comes out, just as a not-so-subtle middle finger to the league for this whole you owe us.
And look at what happened to them in 2024, they ended up 5 and 12.
And think about this, this is a point you made.
Back-to-back conference championship game appearances in 2009 and 2010.
Since then, 8-8, 6-10, 8-8, 4-12, 10-6.
2015, that's the season you were referring to.
After that, 5-11, 5-11, 4-12, 7-9, 2-14, 4-13, 7-10, 7-10, 5-12, 3-14.
Oof.
That's the New York Jets- Yikes over the last 15 years.
Yeah.
That, that's, that's- Not good that's not good.
That's- Almost as bad as the Giants.
You jerk, you.
Well, we did go to the playoffs- three years ago, and our victory was against oh-ooh.
I mean, if there could just be, if you gotta have one victory in the playoffs in the last 10, 12 years, at least it's against my work mate's favorite team.
At least I got that over him.
All right, it's fourth and eight.
Here's what we're gonna do.
I'm gonna throw it to the tight end three yards short of the sticks.
Yeah.
While Justin Jefferson's sprinting down the right sideline, always double covered.
Yeah, the safety- We're g- is spot on him- We gotta, we gotta call Kirk and that would've been a first down anyway, wouldn't it?
Kirk, we gotta call Kirk so he can get on here and straighten you out.
He's always got a great way with us when he comes on.
Well, let's get Justin on here.
Yeah.
When, when we asked- Let's do that Justin Jefferson about it at that Super Bowl, and I was talking about the safety- being flat-footed, and he started do- You know when somebody smiles a certain way- Yeah when you say something, you know what they want to say
