The Jets were off on Wednesday and will return to the practice field Thursday morning. Then they'll have a closed walk-through on Friday, travel to Green Bay and open preseason play against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Saturday evening.

Here are 5 things we're tracking during the dog days of summer:

Secondary Surge
After signing his long-term extension, CB Sauce Gardner has had an outstanding camp. His length and technique are a lethal combination and he's been a PD machine. Brandon Stephens, who had an early PD Tuesday followed by interception off a deflected pass, has progressed throughout the summer.

"Those guys have been doing a hell of a job," HC Aaron Glenn said of the secondary. "I already called B [Brandon] out -- I think he's probably one of our most improved players right now. You watch Sauce -- Sauce is Sauce. Sauce is going to get his hands on the ball; he's going to cover well."

At safety, Andre Cisco, who stepped in front of a Justin Fields sideline throw intended for RB Braelon Allen Tuesday for a pick, has had multiple interceptions in camp. Always known as a ballhawk, Cisco dropped weight this offseason and is moving around well. Holdover Tony Adams, who started 26 games in 2023-24, has picked up the new defense quickly and has been praised for his communication.

"Cisco is a guy that is going to get his hands on the ball," Glenn said. "He probably gets his hands on the ball more than I thought he would, but he did that at Syracuse, and he's done that in the NFL, as far as picking the ball off. So, I'm not surprised with that. TA has done a really good job of handling all of the movements in the back end and making sure that everybody is lined up."

And nickel Michael Carter II is back healthy providing sticky coverage while packing a punch against the run.

"MC2 is doing a really good job at the nickel spot," Glenn said. "The thing is, he's a really good tackler. I know people look at his size, but he is a tough, tough guy, and he doesn't back down from anything. So, even our backups, those guys are doing a really good job, too, and it all comes down to that, they understand exactly what we're trying to do and what we're trying to accomplish. To me, I think that makes it easy for a defense in general for those guys to go out there and play fast."

Hall Pass
Over his first three seasons, Breece Hall totaled 152 receptions and 8 receiving TDs. This Jets offense will not only lean on Hall and the offensive line in the run game, but they're also going to feature Hall in the pass game.

"I think Breece is a matchup issue for defensive players, especially the linebackers," said OC Tanner Engstrand. "If they want to play man-to-man coverage with Breece, I'm going to take that match up any day of the week, and it's been fun to see him develop the route tree, not just, as AG said the other day, not just in the backfield, but outside of the backfield as well, and see if we can find some things that he does out there that can give us some chances to get some explosives."

After a recent practice, QB Justin Fields spoke of Hall's sure hands out of the backfield.

"When I first got here, they surprised me," Fields said. "I saw a highlight from him from the Tennessee game last year and that touchdown [a 26-yarder from Aaron Rodgers in a 24-17 Week 2 win] that he caught. So, you get to practice with him and working with him, you can tell which guys have natural hands and stuff like that. But he had a number amount of catches yesterday where he was -- whether it was from the receiver spot, the slot, or the backfield, coming out of the backfield to catch the ball. It's a great, great weapon to have and I'm pretty sure we're going to utilize him in that way."

Work in Progress
Time is a virtue, and such is the case for the Jets' pass offense. QB Justin Fields is playing on his third team in as many years and is working under his fourth offensive coordinator in five seasons. New system, new language and new personnel combined with the Jets' potentially filthy defense means sometimes you are going to have inconsistent results. Plus, it's always a fair reminder to those who chart "practice stats" that sometimes it's not clear what the situation is. The period might feature second-and-long or third-and-long reps or sometimes the defense is running out some new exotic pressure packages.

"I'm looking at Week 1," HC Aaron Glenn said. "We have a long time until we get to that point and the type of men that we have. I know our men are going to pick it up and get it going. So, I'm not worried at all. The thing that I'm more concerned about or things that we have to do to make ourselves ready for Week 1, the things that we're trying to create in training camp. Those are the things that I think about on a daily basis."

Fields, who has reunited with WR Garrett Wilson, a teammate at Ohio State, rarely changes his expression. He is cool cat who has ice water running through his veins.

"I've been a part of games where we have a red zone [practice]Friday. We run the play three times, we don't hit it one time, and then Sunday comes, and we hit it the first time we run it," Fields said. "So, like I said, our guys are talented enough to get the job done and of course when we don't have the days that we want to have, it's just about how we respond. So, days like this, a day that we didn't want to have, it's a great opportunity to see how we are going to respond on Thursday. So, it's inevitable, you know you're going to have these days in training camp. That's why we're out here."

Injuries to Monitor
The Jets are taking a cautious approach with DT Quinnen Williams (calf) and LG John Simpson (back). Backup QB Tyrod Taylor (knee) has gotten some time off this week while edge Will McDonald IV (back), DT Byron Cowart (ankle) and CB Azareye'h Thomas (shoulder) departed Tuesday's practice early. Rookie TE Mason Taylor, an early camp standout, sustained a high ankle sprain on Saturday, but he was running to the side at practice this week.

"He's a damn good player," HC Aaron Glenn said of Mason Taylor. "He has the pedigree of being just an NFL player because of his dad. So, I think he's going to be just fine. I'm not worried about that player at all."

Edge Jermaine Johnson remains on the Active/PUP list.

Speed Merchant
Rookie wide receiver Arian Smith is beginning to play faster and that's a scary though.

"Early on in camp, it's hard," said Smith, a fourth-round pick from Georgia. "Your mind is going a thousand miles an hour trying to learn the plays, formations, shifts, motions. So, as it comes and as things blend and you learn stuff, you play faster and you know what's going on out there, for sure."

In 14 games with the Bulldogs last season, Smith (6-0, 179) averaged 19.9 yards a catch and had 4 TDs. Already expected to be a core special teams contributor, he has started to make some more flash plays and has the ability to give the Jets a different dimension down the field.

"Arian's phenomenal," said veteran wideout Allen Lazard. "The track hype is real, like he can fly off the ball. But just for anyone from college to the NFL, it's just a little more of details and understanding how routes are needed to be run and how to grow and expand your game at this level and he's done a great job of taking the coaching points -- whether it's been from me, from Garrett [Wilson], SJ [Shawn Jefferson], or Tanner [Engstrand], or Justin [Fields], and he's just going out there and playing hard every single day and I'm really proud of him and I'm really excited to see his career and where it ends up. Like I said, his speed's unbelievable, especially if he gets off the line, just his releases a little bit better, he's already doing a great job. But if he can really hone in on that, then he'll be a very lethal."