The New York Jets just took another cripping blow ahead of their Week 18 regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills.
Gang Green announced on Saturday, January 3, that they have downgraded starters Brandon Stephens (neck) and Breece Hall (knee) to out.
Jets Will Roll out a Skeleton Roster Against Buffalo
With starting cornerback Brandon Stephens out, here is the projected starting secondary for the Jets vs. the Bills.
That group includes: Ja’Sir Taylor, Tre Brown, Jordan Clark, Malachi Moore, and Dean Clark. These players are a combo platter of trades, undrafted free agents, and practice squad dudes.
It’s just as bad in the backfield.
With Hall and Isaiah Davis (concussion) out, the only two healthy running backs for the Jets are Kene Nwangwu and Khalil Herbert.
Has Breece Hall Played the Final Snaps of His Jets Career?
This injury news officially ends the 2025 season for Hall. Is this the end of his Jets career? It’s possible.
The former Iowa State product is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini said the Jets will “try to retain him [this offseason], but Hall may want to test the market.”
If the Jets don’t want to allow that to happen, they’d be forced to use a franchise or transition tag on Hall. Another possibility is the Jets working out a long-term deal with Hall before the new league year kicks off in March of 2026.
That seems hard to envision. Why would Hall take a deal from the Jets before figuring out what his value is on the open market? The only logical reason Hall would do that is if the Jets overpay him to stay. We’ll see if they want him that badly.
Hall Finally Checks the 1K Milestone off His Bucket List
It took four years, but better late than never.
During the Week 17 blowout loss to the New England Patriots, Hall finally eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing plateau.
This ended up being a career season for Hall. He set new career highs in carries (243) and rushing yards (1,065).
Hall became the first 1,000-yard rusher for the Jets since 2015, when Chris Ivory accomplished that feat. That ended the longest active 1,000-yard rushing drought in the NFL, which was at nine years.
Ahead of the new year, Hall took to social media to post a message.
“Here’s to ‘25!!! Can’t wait to see what happens in ‘26!!! Stay tuned❤️,” Hall posted.
Jets Could Be Overflowing With Regret
At the 2025 NFL trade deadline, the Jets had a chance to flip Hall to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick.
The Jets wanted a third. Kansas City refused to budge. The awkward staring contest resulted in no deal.
If the Jets lose Hall this offseason for nothing, they will look back at that no-deal as a massive failure. Which means they could be inspired to keep him so they avoid getting egg on their face.
That might not be the best reason to keep someone, but it could be among the factors in choosing to bring him back to the fold or not.
Jets Make Stunning Breece Hall Announcement Before Bills Game