Breece Hall and Jermaine Johnson went from being part of a larger Jets core to being two of the pieces left standing after two blockbuster deals ahead of the trade deadline Tuesday.
That made the post-deadline reality difficult to comprehend for the Gang Green running back, while Johnson expressed optimism about what the Jets still can become eventually.
First-year general manager Darren Mougey traded Gardner to the Colts in exchange for a pair of first-round picks — one in 2026, another in 2027 — along with wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, while Williams was sent to Dallas in exchange for a second-round pick next year, a first-round selection in 2027 and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
“Sick about my bruddas man,” Hall wrote in a since-deleted X post. “happy for them but man im sick rn.”
Johnson would “be lying” if he said he was happy that Williams and Gardner were gone, he wrote.
“But, I believe strongly in the organization, staff and my other brothers in the locker room,” Johnson wrote in an X post, in part. “I said when I got drafted I wanted to be the reason or part of the reason this thing gets changed for the better and that’s going to continue to be my outlook. I love this team and this fan base and y’all will continue to get my all, my absolute best on and off the field. Let’s look onward and upward because better things are coming and I give my word on that.”
Gardner was a first-round pick in the same draft class as Johnson and Hall in 2022, while Williams arrived three years before them as a first-rounder in 2019.
The deals gave Mougey and the rest of the Jets’ front office plenty of draft capital to work with — two first-rounders next year, two second-rounders next year, three first-rounders in 2027 — in their rebuild and search for a franchise quarterback, but it took some of the Jets’ most talented players off their roster.
Hall also ended up in trade rumors leading up to the deadline and on Tuesday, but the fourth-year running back, Johnson and star wideout Garrett Wilson didn’t end up getting moved.
Through eight games in 2025, Hall has collected 581 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on a Jets offense that has — outside of two games — struggled, and he’ll be a free agent after the season.
The Jets’ rushing attack was supposed to be a strength entering the season behind Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis and quarterback Justin Fields, but Allen sustained an MCL sprain at the end of September and Gang Green, in general, has struggled to run the ball.
Hall made it clear before the season — after Gardner and Wilson both signed their long-term extensions — that he needed to prove himself to the new regime in order to land an extension himself.
Johnson, who only appeared in two games last season before tearing his Achilles, has collected a sack through five games.
But now, the Jets will need to adjust to life without their top cornerback and top defensive tackle heading into their game Sunday against the Browns.
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