CINCINNATI -- A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:
1. Trade winds at One Jets Drive: With a bye in Week 9, the Jets are playing their last game before the Nov. 4 trading deadline. There might be a familiar name or two missing by the time they suit up again.
The rumors are flying, and, yes, they seep into conversations among players around the team facility, they said. One player said it comes up a lot in the cafeteria. It's only natural for them to wonder who might be on the move. This is what happens on noncontending teams.
At 0-7, the Jets must make some tough decisions. Do they trade a popular starter for a draft pick? A win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday won't change the trajectory of the season, so it might be time to plan for 2026 and beyond.
The front office is receiving calls from potential suitors, sources said.
"We have a lot of talented players on the team, and we're not performing too well, so it makes sense for other teams to try to call and kind of ask where the [front office] and staff is in terms of maybe letting some guys go or keeping them," edge rusher Jermaine Johnson told ESPN. "So [the rumors] aren't odd. We're a talented team; we just haven't put it together."
Johnson's name was in the rumor mill, but he said he received word from the front office that he won't be traded. He's happy about that; he's under contract through 2026 and he wants to stay. Other members of the defensive unit -- Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, Will McDonald IV and Michael Carter II -- have also been mentioned as trade candidates. Quincy Williams will be a free agent; the others are signed through at least 2026.
Quinnen Williams is under contract through 2027, but he could look to renegotiate because he has only $5 million guaranteed in 2026. That situation bears watching. He could fetch a high-round pick. That, plus the cap relief, might be appealing.
The big name on offense is Breece Hall, who appears headed for free agency. Owner Woody Johnson, speaking to reporters this week, was noncommittal on Hall, saying he didn't want to speculate on whether the running back is part of the long-term plan.
He could be playing his last game with the Jets on Sunday. You never know.
2. Crystal ball: The Jets made a Justin Fields-Tyrod Taylor quarterback decision this week, but the really important decisions will come in the offseason.
Taylor is headed to free agency. Fields is under contract for 2026 ($20 million base, including $10 million guaranteed). Do they retain him as a stopgap, someone who can keep the seat warm for a highly drafted rookie? Fields' lack of production, not to mention Woody Johnson's public criticism, has created doubt about his future.
Know this: They'd have a $22 million cap hit for cutting Fields. Aaron Rodgers still is on the books for a $35 million charge in 2026, meaning two quarterbacks no longer on the roster would be eating up $57 million of the cap. It's not easy to build a competitive roster under those restraints.
3. Losing history: Fields' starting record is 14-36, which puts him tied for the third-fewest wins through 50 starts in NFL history, per Elias Sports. The only quarterbacks with fewer wins are Archie Manning and Norm Snead, both 13-34-3.
4. Viral Jets fan: D'Andre McKenzie, a Manhattan-based digital creator who bills himself as "The People's Correspondent," is the man behind the viral video of the distraught young Jets fan after last week's loss.
McKenzie interviewed 25 to 30 fans that day. He was about to call it a wrap when, by chance, he stopped a teenager in a Quinnen Williams jersey. The boy's response -- pure devastation -- resonated across the sports and media landscapes.
"There wasn't anything fake behind it," McKenzie told ESPN. "There was no acting. It wasn't anything untrue. It was real emotion."
McKenzie said the video generated more than 34 million views on his various social media platforms by Thursday. Initially, he didn't know the identity of the young boy, but the boy contacted him through social media. McKenzie can relate to his anguish; he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan who suffered in the pre-Andy Reid era.
5. Glass half-empty: One of the constants this season (other than losing) has been the inability to score in the first half. We're talking touchdowns, not field goals. The Jets have gone six straight games without a first-half touchdown, which breaks down to 34 drives and 189 total plays. Imagine snapping the ball 189 times and not reaching the end zone on any one of them.
Whether they're physically outmatched or not mentally prepared for what the defense throws at them (or both), the offense always seems to be at a competitive disadvantage.
"As the offensive coordinator, ultimately it all falls on my shoulders," Tanner Engstrand said.
The Jets are the first team since the 2013 Indianapolis Colts to go six straight games without a first-half touchdown. If that trend continues Sunday, they'd be only the fifth team in the last 75 years to reach seven in a row.
It shouldn't be this hard. New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart orchestrated opening-drive touchdowns in each of his first three starts.
6. Austin powers: In March, special teams assistant Kevin O'Dea attended a free agent combine for kickers and punters in Arizona, run by renown kicking guru Gary Zauner. O'Dea was so impressed with punter Austin McNamara that the Jets got him on a plane to New Jersey for a private workout for team brass. They signed him immediately.
And now McNamara might be having the best season of any player on the team. He's sixth in net average (44.6), tied for fourth in punts inside the 20 (11) and second in hang time (4.90 seconds). His net average would be the best single-season mark in franchise history.
"It feels very rewarding," McNamara said. "Obviously, I know I can play in the league, and I feel really comfortable here. I feel I belong here."
McNamara returns to Cincinnati to face his former team. Actually, he was a Bengal for only a few months. He signed as a rookie free agent after the 2024 draft and was released in early August. After that, he had 13 workouts for 12 different teams, finally landing a contract with the Jets.
7. Did you know? The Jets have faced 202 pass attempts and have yet to record a single interception. That's hard to believe, especially since they've played some of the most interception-prone quarterbacks -- Tua Tagovailoa (10), Rodgers (five) and Bryce Young (five). Now they face the Bengals' Joe Flacco (six).
In fact, they have only one takeaway, the fewest by any team through seven games of a season in NFL history.
8. Quadragenerian QBs: For the second time in eight games, the Jets will face a QB in his 40s who used to play for them. First, Rodgers. Now, Flacco.
No one knows Flacco, 40, better than Taylor, 36, who considered Flacco a mentor when they were teammates on the Baltimore Ravens (2011-2014).
9. Flag man: Guard John Simpson leads NFL offensive linemen in penalty yardage -- 57 yards on six penalties, including three unnecessary-roughness calls. He got flagged for roughness last week when a Carolina Panthers player stuck a thumb in his neck -- "the craziest thing I ever experienced in a game," Simpson said. He retaliated by grabbing the player's facemask.
In an earlier game, Simpson incurred a roughness penalty for coming to the defense of Fields, the victim of an apparent cheap shot. Still inexcusable, according to offensive line coach Steve Heiden, who said: "I think we all respect the notion of trying to protect your guys, but let's do that between the whistles. There are ways to get after people between the whistles and take care of what we need to take care of."
10. The last word: "I think the fans are the best thing we have because they are true blue ... true green." -- Woody Johnson, self-correcting after realizing he made a Giants' reference.