The Jets held an unexpected fire sale ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. They shipped off two of the most talented players on the roster, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, in order to build up a stockpile of high draft picks. But New York didn’t trade everybody with value.
After the Gardner and Williams trades there was a widely-held expectation that running back Breece Hall would be the next to go. Hall had been involved in trade rumors leading up to the deadline and given his combination of talent and impending free agency seemed all but certain to be moved. Yet when the 4 p.m. deadline came and went, Hall was still a Jet.
Speaking to reporters after a flurry of moves that dramatically altered the organization’s trajectory, general manager Darren Mougey was asked why he decided to keep Hall on the roster. He gave a pretty simple explanation.
“Through these processes, we talk about a lot of things and we field a lot of calls and we've got values, and Breece is a talented player,” Mougey said via ESPN. “He's going to help us compete and win games the rest of the season.”
Mougey is right that Hall is talented and will help them win—which is why the decision to keep him is puzzling. By trading their two best defensive players while sitting at 1-7 the Jets seemed to pretty clearly wave the white flag on the season. The playoffs are already out of reach even if New York isn’t mathematically eliminated yet. Trading current stars for future draft picks indicates the franchise is looking to the future rather than next Sunday. Why keep Hall around if that’s the case?
No team will be interested in getting rid of good players for nothing and there’s a chance the Jets didn’t like any of the offers that were on the table. But given the running back could be in a different uniform next season as his contract with New York expires and he hits free agency, it seems like a big risk to keep him around instead of taking what was there.
So far in 2025 Hall has 581 yards rushing and 21 catches for 178 yards receiving for a grand total of two touchdowns.
Only time will tell if it was the wise decision. For now the Jets appear mostly focused on rebuilding the roster through the draft, which will require high draft picks, which will require more losses on their end. The next step towards a brighter future comes on Sunday in the form of a Week 10 matchup against the Browns.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jets GM Gave Simple Explanation for Why Team Didn’t Trade Breece Hall at Deadline.