In the final year of his contract with the Jets, cornerback DJ Reed said he is open to signing a contract extension to remain in New York, but he is already looking forward to free agency.
“Quite honestly, the ball is in the Jets’ court,” the cornerback said about getting an extension done.
“I love being here, but I’m not really stressing about it,” Reed said after the final practice of the team's mandatory minicamp Wednesday. “I’m here, I’m gonna be here in training camp.”
Reed, who came to the Jets on a three-year contract ahead of the 2022 season, was asked if he had spoken to the club this offseason about potentially getting a new contract. He said no and “it’s just been chill vibes.”
“I signed a three-year deal, so I expect to play the three years here and go into free agency,” the 27-year-old said. “But, I do love New York, I love playing here, love the coaches and the organization. [Jets owner Woody Johnson] took care of me last time. And, yeah, I love my teammates, so we’ll see.”
The free agent market is something Reed is familiar with after he hit the open market after his fourth NFL season before landing with Gang Green on a $33 million deal.
“The first time going to free agency I was really nervous because I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “When I was over in Seattle talking to the organization over there, from my understanding, I was gonna be a Seattle Seahawk. Obviously, actions overlay what words are said. So going into free agency over there, it was just interesting because you wanna get the most money you can because we play a sport that is very uncertain with injuries.
“I feel like now, for me honestly, it’s more of a peace of mind. Financially I’m doing well. I would say it’s less stress going into free agency this time for me.”
As far as why Reed isn’t holding out for a new deal – like the recently acquired edge rusher Haason Reddick – he said that “every situation is different.”
“Some guys that aren’t here, they probably feel like they should have a contract,” he said. “For me personally, financially I’m doing well, my family’s doing well. And I love football so I chose to be here. That’s my decision. Everybody has different decisions, different ways they wanna move about. Guys feel like they should be making x amount of money despite the contract that they signed. And that’s justifiable. Every situation is different.”
As far as the Jets’ defense goes at this stage of things, the seven-year NFL veteran already sees an identity for the unit looking to maintain their reputation of being one of the league’s best.
“We definitely have an identity, we definitely have a standard. And it’s just holding each other accountable every day to that standard. That’s what I expect,” he said, adding that the standard is getting all 11 players on defense “running to the ball” and bringing a level of physicality to the opposition.
“But not just running to the ball just to be running to the ball, it’s like a deliberate making sure that you’re tracking, so, if it’s a cutback that you’re able to tackle the running back or the ball carrier,” he continued. “And also just that physical tenacity that we play with in all phases from the d-line to the linebackers to the secondary.”
Reed stopped short of making any proclamations like he did last September when he said he was “very confident” that the Jets defense had the chance to be “historical.”
“We had a great defense last year, but y’all blew that up,” Reed told the assembled media. “We had a Top 5 defense, arguably Top 1, and I just feel like that comment that I made overlooked that… So I’m not gonna even say all that. We just gonna let the year play out. We gonna play to our standard.”
Proclamations aside, Reed said he is “very hungry” to experience winning in New York, saying “that would mean everything to win here.”
“I really wanna help us win a championship here,” he said. “Not to just say that to say that, that’s really my goal. Why I work out every day, why I train every day, why I make all these sacrifices away from my family.
“I really wanna hold that Lombardi for the Jets. That’s something that I really visualize and dream about. And winning in New York is different.”
