The Jets signed two members of their 2022 draft class to contract extensions this offseason, but running back Breece Hall isn’t expecting to join cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson in celebrating a new deal.
Hall was a second-round pick that year and an impressive rookie season was cut short by a torn ACL. He returned to post nearly 1,600 yards from scrimmage in 2023, but slumped along with the rest of the team last season. That slump led to head coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas being fired during the season and Hall knows that he has to show new coach Aaron Glenn and new G.M. Darren Mougey that he’s someone they want to keep around before he can expect a second contract with the club.
“We’ve got a new head coach, new G.M. and obviously I wasn’t drafted by them,” Hall said, via Dennis Waszak of the Associated Press. “I’m not their guy. So for me, I’ve got to prove it every day. I think for me, I’ve got a chip on my shoulder. I feel like right now, OK, it’s my last chance. You know, for me, it’s always been, oh, he’s got potential, he’s got potential, but I want to be the product. So now it’s all just about putting my head down and working. So I feel like I don’t really want to discuss all the other stuff. For me, I just try to worry about ball right now.”
The Jets have talked about using Hall as part of a backfield committee that also includes Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, which could lead to less work for the fourth-year player. Despite that, Hall said that “it just feels a lot better around here coming in every day” because the team has “really bought in to” an offensive scheme that’s centered on the run game.
Time will tell if that pays off on the contract front, but optimism about the future is a welcome change from where things were for the Jets at the end of last season.
