New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey wasn’t bashful about reorganizing the roster this offseason.
Mougey was hired by the Jets on January 25 and quickly got to work, moving on from Aaron Rodgers in February and bringing in Justin Fields. This move previewed Mougey's and new head coach Aaron Glenn’s philosophy around rebuilding New York’s depth chart: youth, upside, and team-friendly deals.
As Mougey crafted the Jets’ defense, most of his moves aligned with this approach, but one signing stood out. ESPN’s Seth Walder was the most recent analyst to criticize this move during an evaluation of New York’s offseason this week.
“The Jets made a fine deal to re-sign breakout linebacker Jamien Sherwood and brought in safety Andre Cisco on a reasonable one-year deal,” Walder wrote. “But the $12 million per year and $23 million fully guaranteed they gave to cornerback Brandon Stephens, a downgrade from the departed D.J. Reed, felt too costly.”
Stephens has spent his entire career (four seasons) with Baltimore thus far. He started 16 games for the Ravens last season and tallied 67 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and nine pass deflections. For his career, Stephens, 27, has 256 tackles, two sacks, 31 pass deflections, and two interceptions in 64 total games (47 starts).
Reed, meanwhile, joined Glenn’s former team, the Detroit Lions. Reed signed with Detroit on March 10 on a three-year, $48 million deal.
Mougey and Glenn clearly saw something in Stephens that others do not. New York's secondary is expected to be a strength, and Stephens will surely have the opportunity in 2025 to prove Walder and other wrong.
