Geno Smith, Jets
Getty
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Detroit Lions.
The New York Jets have added some more protection for new QB1 Geno Smith.
ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler revealed that offensive lineman Max Mitchell has re-signed with the Jets on a one-year deal.
Jeremy Fowler
Offensive tackle Max Mitchell is signing back to the Jets on a one-year deal, per source.
Mitchell, a fourth-round pick by the franchise in 2022, has 17 career starts for New York.
The Jets have also brought back offensive lineman Xavier Newman, the team announced.
“Newman (6-2, 297) joined the Jets in 2023 after beginning his pro career as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans. The Baylor product appeared in 4 games for the Titans from 2022-23 and was signed to the Jets’ practice squad in October 2023. Since his arrival with the Jets, Newman has appeared in 21 games for the Green & White (4 starts). During the 2025 season, he appeared in 5 games and played 31 offensive snaps,” Jets editorial contributor Susanna Weir wrote in a press release.
Some Much Needed Depth on the Offensive Line
These types of signings won’t be front-page news on ESPN, but maintaining depth in the trenches is critically important.
Last year, the Jets were the only team in the NFL to start the same five offensive linemen across a full season. That is unlikely to happen two seasons in a row. Which means the Jets better make sure they have depth on the offensive line.
If someone goes down with an injury, they will need the football cliche of the “next man up.”
Before a flurry of signings over the last couple of days, the Jets only had four offensive linemen under contract. Now that number is up to seven.
The Jets have: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann, Armand Membou, Mitchell, and Newman.
A Big Item Left on the Jets’ to-Do-List
The Jets have a starting five on their roster right now. You could make an argument that the Jets could improve at the center position if they wanted to upgrade from Myers.
However, the missing piece to the puzzle is a swing tackle. The Jets don’t have a viable one on the roster right now.
“Still could use a swing tackle in FA. And would bet on at least one OL getting drafted, if not more,” Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic posted.
Zack Rosenblatt
The Jets re-signed G Xavier Newman. They like him for depth on the OL.
OL room: Olu Fashanu, Armand Membou, Joe Tippmann, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Max Mitchell, Xavier Newman
Still could use a swing tackle in FA. And would bet on at least one OL getting drafted, if not more.
Last year, the Jets signed veteran offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor.
The good news was that Okorafor brought experience. In his career, he has appeared in 92 games and has made 60 starts. The bad news is that Okorafor has nearly exclusively played right tackle in his professional career.
Ideally, when you sign a swing tackle, you’d prefer that they have the versatility to play both left and right tackle. So just in case an injury happens to either side, your player can plug-and-play wherever the injury occurred.
In the Jets’ case, if Fashanu had gotten hurt, the Jets might have been forced to completely reshuffle the deck on the O-Line as opposed to just plugging one player in to fill in for Fashanu.
Okorafor is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. If the Jets bring him back to the fold, they will likely have to explore another veteran addition on the O-Line who specializes on the left side.