The New York Jets are still hunting for help up front, but their latest waiver swing came up empty.
New York was among the teams that put in a claim for defensive tackle Jonah Laulu, according to Jordan Schultz, but the 26-year-old ended up with the Tennessee Titans because they held the top waiver priority. Schultz reported that the Jets joined Tennessee, Indianapolis, New England, Miami, and Houston in making a claim for the former Las Vegas Raider.
Laulu, who was taken by Las Vegas in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL draft, has already carved out a decent amount of experience in a short time. The Oklahoma product appeared in all 34 games across his first two seasons with the Raiders and moved into a 15-game starting role in 2025. That year, he posted 51 total tackles, four sacks, and five pass deflections.
This season looked different. Laulu was pushed into a backup role, played 32% of the team’s snaps over five games, and finished with a half-sack and five tackles. He was also a healthy scratch in the Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams before the Raiders waived him to make room for wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, who was activated off injured reserve.
The Jets have been digging for answers along the defensive line for a while now. On Tuesday, they worked out three defensive tackles: Amari McNeill, Jordan Miller, and Chris Williams. None had been signed as of this writing.
The need is obvious. New York is still down starting defensive tackle David Onyemata, who landed on injured reserve after a groin injury in Week 2 and has since undergone core muscle surgery. Starting edge rusher Joseph Ossai has been limited to three games this season because of multiple lower-body injuries and is likely to miss Week 8 as well after an ankle issue kept him out of Wednesday and Thursday’s practices.
There are more concerns beyond that. Defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday because of a knee problem, and edge rusher David Bailey missed both sessions with a groin injury.
The results have shown up on Sundays. Since Week 3, the Jets have been gashed for a league-worst 9.2 rushing first downs per game. They need bodies, and they need answers fast.
That makes Week 8 a pretty inviting place to start. The Raiders come to town carrying an active four-game losing streak and sitting last in the league over that stretch in both rushing yards per game at 55.8 and yards per rush attempt at 2.8.
Still, Las Vegas back Ashton Jeanty made his feelings about the Jets’ defense clear this week, saying it has players who “don’t really want to tackle,” a line that circulated inside the Jets’ building.
Jeanty might want to keep an eye on his own production too. Among 27 qualified running backs, he ranks last in missed tackles forced per carry with 0.094, and he has 10 missed tackles forced on 106 carries this season.
If there’s a chance for either side to straighten things out, Sunday looks like the spot.
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Jets Suddenly Face A Defensive Front Problem In Must-Win Week 8
The Jets defensive front is suddenly looking thin at a bad time, with David Bailey missing practice for two straight days because of a groin injury. As they prepare for a Week 8 matchup with the Raiders, the injury picture up front has started to cloud what had already been a must-hold-up spot for a defense that needs its line to set the tone.
T'Vondre Sweat is also dealing with a knee injury, which adds another layer of uncertainty to the rotation. If the Jets are forced to patch things together on the edge, Will McDonald and Kingsley Enagbare could be pushed into starting roles, leaving New York to navigate a front-seven test with less margin for error than it would like. [Read more 🡒]