Will McDonald has been handed the kind of opening that can change a depth chart fast.
The Jets pass rusher enters Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans with a real shot to climb back into the mix after sliding down the team’s pecking order following a down 2025 season. Joseph Ossai is now “week-to-week” with a foot injury, and Rich Cimini told fans not to expect Ossai to play in Week 1. That leaves McDonald with a clear path to more snaps against his old coach.
Head coach Aaron Glenn said injured players like Breece Hall and top pick Kenyon Sadiq are on track to play in Week 1, but Ossai is the name that matters most for McDonald’s role. Before the injury, McDonald was lined up as the nominal No. 3 edge rusher behind Ossai and No. 2 overall pick David Bailey. But a huge summer from former Green Bay Packers rotation piece Kingsley Enagbare has pushed plenty of people to believe the 2023 first-rounder has slipped all the way into a situational pass-rush job.
That’s a sharp fall for a player who has already stacked up 18.5 sacks over the last two years. Still, the production has come with baggage.
McDonald has often been on the field in lopsided game scripts, and he has regularly graded out as either the worst or one of the worst run defenders on the roster. Glenn, according to the source material, has had enough of having to reshape the defense around those issues.
Week 1 gives McDonald a chance to change that conversation quickly. If he comes out hot against Tennessee and shows he can at least hold up as a run defender, the Jets may have a hard time putting him back where he was supposed to start.
The Titans do have some encouraging pieces on offense, but their line is still unsettled. High-priced free-agent signing Dan Moore Jr. has struggled, and JC Latham, while solid, has not played with the dominance expected from a top-10 pick. If Ossai sits and New York starts fast, McDonald could end up forcing a real shuffle in the rotation.
There’s also the bigger picture hanging over all of this. McDonald’s future in New York beyond this season is not guaranteed, and he needs to prove he has taken a step forward now that Robert Saleh’s scheme is no longer in place.
Ossai’s injury handed him the opening. Now it’s on McDonald not to waste it.
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