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New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey speaking at the 2025 NFL Combine.
That was a close call.
Following the conclusion of the 2026 NFL draft, New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey met with the media.
During that presser, Mougey was asked if getting back to the negotiating table with running back Breece Hall is something they planned to do post-draft.
“Potentially. I have a list of things that we are going to turn the page from with the draft and address next week. With that being one of them, internally discuss, and we’ll see where that goes,” Mougey responded.
The word “potentially” raised a lot of eyebrows on social media because it had been strongly implied earlier this offseason by this regime that they would revisit those extension talks. Did these new comments from Mougey suggest something else was in the works here or that something had changed?
ESPN’s Rich Cimini asked Mougey a follow-up question later in the presser, “Darren, I just want to clarify something, I don’t want to misinterpret something you just said about Breece Hall. You said potentially? I just want to be clear because it sounded like… Are you going to start talks again or… potentially, I don’t know what that means.”
“I anticipate addressing the Breece Hall contract stuff. I have a list of things to get to next week, and that being one of them. I want to have discussions internally, and I want to have discussions with Breece’s party before saying much more. Yeah, I anticipate kind of turning my attention to Breece and that contract situation,” Mougey responded.
When I was listening to that presser, my head perked up immediately when he said “potentially.” Did I hear what I thought I heard? I asked myself.
That initial comment seemed to imply that there was a chance that they would end negotiations with Breece and just either make him play on the franchise tag for 2026 or that maybe a trade could happen.
The latter would be hard to explain because if you were going to go down that road, you’d figure that would have occurred either before the draft or during it. After all, they could have attempted to find a replacement.
The Jets didn’t select a running back with any of their selections in April’s draft.
Or if Mougey’s comments were about potentially ending negotiations, that could have made Hall and his representation feel a certain type of way, which could have also caused some issues.
Instead, Mougey was able to quiet the noise and put out the fire before it truly started.
Now that the draft is over, the Jets need to circle the wagons around Hall.
The temptation of potentially adding Jeremiyah Love is over. Quite frankly, the temptation to add any running back is over.
The Jets didn’t pull the trigger; now, they need to pull the trigger on locking Hall down. This offense has a chance to be explosive with Hall being a centerpiece of the offense.
The Jets have the cap space to work out a long-term deal, and they have until July 15 to work out that extension with Hall and his camp.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, "The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital." Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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