FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets running back Breece Hall has been the subject of on-and-off trade rumors for six months. They're on again with the Nov. 4 trading deadline fast approaching.
On Wednesday, coach Aaron Glenn dismissed the speculation, reiterating what he said in the preseason: They have no plans to trade Hall.
"They're rumors," Glenn said. "I still feel the same way."
Hall told reporters last Friday in London that he doesn't want to be traded, but then the Jets fell to 0-6 with an ugly offensive performance in a 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos. One day after the game, he stirred the speculation with a cryptic Instagram post.
"They want me to lay down but I got sum to stand for... #Free20," he wrote in the post.
Does he want to be free of the Jets, the NFL's only winless team? Does he want a bigger role in the offense? He already is a major contributor. He has 560 yards from scrimmage, 10th in the NFL.
Hall gave a vague answer Wednesday when approached by a few reporters in the locker room.
"I haven't posted anything this season, so [it's] just a way for me to say I'm ready for whatever comes my way at the end of the day," he said. "Whether it's going against an opponent, whether it's in my life, it's just for me. It's a football thing. So, all right, I'm ready for whatever opponent's coming my way, whatever the case may be. It's a for-the-game type of thing."
Asked whether "Free20" means he wants out, Hall said, "Nah, it's referencing, like, being in the moment, being in the game. I'm ready for whatever."
The trade rumors started around the draft, when Glenn indicated his plan to use a three-back system -- Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis. From 2022 to 2024, Hall was the clear-cut No. 1 back. That, coupled with the fact that the Jets let Hall go into the last year of his rookie contract without an extension, fueled the speculation.
Before the season, Hall said he didn't expect an extension because "I'm not their guy" -- meaning he wasn't drafted by first-year general manager Darren Mougey. Neither were cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson, but they received extensions before training camp. All three players were part of the Jets' 2022 draft class.
Allen's knee injury in Week 4 -- he is expected to be out until at least December -- complicates the matter. If they were to trade Hall, they'd be left with the relatively unproven Davis as their top back.
Hall insisted he's not distracted by the trade rumors.
"So you think that when I'm playing, I'm thinking about getting traded?" he said.
"You think I wake up thinking about getting traded? I have a very simple routine. I wake up, I take a shower, I brush my teeth, wash my face, put my clothes on, come to the facility and go about my workday. And I go home, I watch some film, I play some video games and go to bed. So that's my week right there."
Despite the preseason chatter about a reduced role, Hall has remained a vital cog on offense. In fact, he's averaging a career-high 68.3 rushing yards per game -- 410 yards and 4.7 per rush.
He also has 17 receptions for 150 yards, although he's not as involved in the passing game as anticipated. He wasn't targeted once against the Broncos, the first time in his career that he played a complete game with no pass targets. It happened in an injury-shortened game in 2022, the year he tore his ACL.
"I'm in my fourth year, and I don't have a lot of time left to prove what I can do and who I want to be in this league," Hall said after the Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, sounding as if the losing was taking its toll.
A few days later, Hall reversed field, saying, "I want to be here. I love being a New York Jet."
It was Glenn who shut down the rumors in August. At the time, he was explaining his rationale for using three running backs instead of leaning on one.
"That does not mean that I'm trading Breece. OK? [It] does not! So I'm going to say that right now," Glenn said at the time.
Nothing has changed, he said Wednesday.