The Jets are heading into 2026 with a clear hope attached to Jamien Sherwood: the version they saw in 2024 shows up again.
That’s the challenge for a linebacker who went from breakout star to source of concern in a year. After a strong 2024 season, Sherwood earned a three-year, $45 million extension. Then came a rough 2025, one that left real questions about where he fit long term.
His 2024 tape gave the Jets plenty to like. Forced into a starting job after C.J.
Mosley’s injury, Sherwood finished fourth among NFL linebackers with 59 run stops and led all linebackers with 98 solo tackles. In coverage, he allowed just 435 receiving yards and didn’t give up a touchdown, even while playing the 12th-most coverage snaps at his position.
The follow-up was far less convincing. In 2025, Sherwood’s run stops fell to 48, he gave up 578 receiving yards and four touchdowns in coverage, and he even spent a brief stretch on the bench. He never seemed fully settled as the Jets’ full-time MIKE linebacker, even while serving as the defensive captain and wearing the green dot.
Now the Jets are asking him to reset.
The biggest reason for optimism comes from the middle of the defense, where Demario Davis is back in the picture. New York signed the five-time All-Pro linebacker to a two-year, $22 million deal this offseason, and he’s expected to handle MIKE duties. That would let Sherwood move back to his more natural WILL spot.
That shift could matter a lot. Instead of constantly dealing with blockers and running the defense from the middle, Sherwood should be able to flow more freely to the ball.
The Jets also added help up front, and that matters for a linebacker trying to play fast. With T'Vondre Sweat, Harrison Phillips, David Onyemata, and Jowon Briggs working inside, Sherwood should have more chances to attack downhill and use the speed that made him so effective in 2024.
If that all clicks, the Jets could end up with one of the better linebacker tandems in the league. But there’s no guarantee of that.
This is a big year for Sherwood in another sense, too. He carries a $19 million cap hit in 2027, but the Jets could move on after this season and save roughly $11.5 million against the cap.
They’d obviously prefer not to go that route. With Davis turning 38 next January, Sherwood is the player they need to establish as part of the future.
The depth behind the starters is thin, which only raises the stakes. The Jets need Sherwood to prove that 2026 can be more than a bounce-back year. They need him to show that 2024 wasn’t a one-off.
If he gets back to that level, the Jets will feel a lot better about the money they spent and the shape of the linebacker room going forward.
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