The Jets selected Auburn safety Jamien Sherwood in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and immediately announced that they were converting him to linebacker. Since that time, they’ve seemingly been grooming him to take over for C.J. Mosley in the “quarterback of the defense” role at Mike linebacker.
Sherwood’s career got off to a slow start as he was in a rotational role for the first three seasons, starting just seven times and playing a total of just 358 defensive snaps.
However, when Mosley was limited to just four games in 2024 due to injuries, Sherwood stepped into his role and had a productive season which ultimately saw him voted as Team MVP by his teammates. With his rookie contract now expiring, the Jets face a dilemma.
So, should the Jets bring Sherwood back?
Why Sherwood should be back
Sherwood’s performance this past season solidified him as a starter-level player, and the Jets have viewed him as an important contributor in their back seven. He was a prolific tackler as he actually led the NFL in solo tackles. He also graded out as the team’s best full-time defensive player on Pro Football Focus.
Clearly, Sherwood’s role was set to increase in 2024 regardless, because he played 32 defensive snaps in the opener -- his highest snap count since his rookie year. Even though that was less that half of the defensive snaps that day, Mosley’s injury issues immediately forced Sherwood into a full-time role perhaps sooner than planned. He obviously impressed his teammates, who lauded his communication skills throughout the season and voted him as Team MVP at the end of the year.
As an ascending player but not yet viewed as a star, extending Sherwood should hopefully be affordable for the Jets, but with the possibility that he could continue to ascend and end up outperforming expectations. That’s essentially what happened with Quincy Williams, who was an All-Pro in 2023 after signing a lower-than-expected $6 million per year deal to remain with the team.
Why Sherwood shouldn’t be back
The one concern with Sherwood after replacing Mosley was that even though Sherwood himself was productive and not making many mistakes, the defense as a whole continued to underperform, costing the team games.
The concern was that, with Mosley out of the lineup, there could be more blown coverages, poor run fits and people lining up in the wrong place, which obviously was Sherwood’s responsibility as he took on the duties of wearing the headset and relaying defensive calls.
In Sherwood’s defense, if this was an issue earlier on in the year, it seemed to impact the team less and less as the season progressed. The run defense in particular really stiffened down the stretch with the Jets ending up with the fifth lowest yards per carry average in the league for opposing runners.
If you were going to nit-pick anything specific about Sherwood’s individual performance, you might point to the fact that he led the team in missed tackles, or that he doesn’t make many impact plays with no forced fumbles, fumble recoveries or interceptions in 2024.
Of course, the Jets will be bringing in a new coaching staff and may have a different system next year. Whether or not Sherwood is viewed as a potential fit for that system, many of the benefits of his return bringing continuity, scheme familiarity and chemistry with his teammates could be lost.
Also, after such an impressive season with eye-popping statistical production, there’s always the chance that several other teams could be interested in Sherwood, pushing his price-point beyond what New York may be willing to pay.
Verdict
Sherwood is a homegrown player the Jets should be keen to bring back, especially since his trajectory is pointing upwards. If he can sign an extension and take over permanently from Mosley as the starting Mike, then the plan that was put in place when he was first drafted will have come to fruition.
Mosley is under contract next season, too, but the Jets can save money by letting him go.
This could be a situation where they want both be back, so the Jets will have to make their minds up how to prioritize who returns.
The logical thing to do would be to make Mosley a cap casualty – if he doesn’t retire – and then use the money saved to offer Sherwood a reasonably generous extension.