Just before last season, the Jets raised the slot cornerback market’s ceiling by extending Michael Carter. The team proceeded to fire Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas in the weeks that followed. That looks to be a telling sign regarding the team’s cornerback plans.
Although Carter’s three-year, $30.75MM contract runs through 2027, he has not played particularly well since signing it. And the former fifth-round find may be a trade candidate. The Jets having drafted Azareye’h Thomas in the third round this year and then traded for Jarvis Brownlee last month, pointing ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini to mention Carter as a trade chip under the Darren Mougey-Aaron Glenn regime.
It appears “the writing is on the wall” for Carter in New York, per Cimini. Drafting two Michael Carters in 2021, the Jets bailed on the former fourth-round running back (now a Cardinal) a while ago. Moving the fifth-year corner would make for a more notable transaction due to the latter’s contract, but the Duke product has struggled on this $10.25MM-per-year deal.
The Jets had viewed Carter as their entrenched slot corner upon signing him to the extension, a deal that was rumored during the 2024 offseason. Carter’s deal also helped D.J. Reed see the writing on the wall, with the team’s Sauce Gardner boundary sidekick hitting free agency and signing with the Lions. The Jets replaced Reed with Brandon Stephens, making them the only team — thanks to Gardner’s $30.1MM-per-year deal this summer — with three eight-figure AAVs at corner. But Carter’s snap share has declined since an injury-plagued 2024.
A herniated disk in Carter’s back accompanied an ankle injury last year, and his snap share declined to a career-low 32% during Jeff Ulbrich‘s interim HC stretch. Carter had logged between 64 and 74% of New York’s defensive snaps from 2021-23, solidifying himself as an extension candidate. Missing two games already this season, he has played 53% of Gang Green’s defensive snaps but has struggled under Glenn and DC Steve Wilks.
Pro Football Focus ranks Carter outside the top 100 among CB regulars thus far, and he has allowed a whopping 19.5 yards per target and 13 yards per completion. Although we are dealing with a small sample size, the 26-year-old slot staple is trending in the wrong direction for a rebuilding team. Brownlee has also logged 35 slot snaps early in his Jets tenure.
Breece Hall represents a prime trade chip due to contract-year status, and Carter’s recent play has undoubtedly reduced his value. While Saleh (49ers) and Ulbrich (Falcons) are running defenses elsewhere, the Jets may not land much for Carter despite his deal presenting an acquiring team with two more full seasons of control. If Gang Green moves on before the deadline, it would see roughly $7MM in dead money come from the swap.
With a new regime running the show, some Saleh/Douglas-era pieces will not fit. At 0-6, the Jets have naturally been linked to selling. The list may expand beyond Carter and Hall, as draft capital will be prioritized early in a lost season.