Andre Cisco's return to the metropolitan area with the Jets last season didn't go as planned.

After four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Valley Stream, NY, native signed a one-year deal with the Green & White and was slotted in as a starting safety. But in the Week 8 game at Cincinnati, when the Jets came away with the win, Cisco sustained a torn pectoral muscle and his season was over.

"I look back to what was just maybe nine months ago, I'm coming off the field, injured off a one-year deal, not sure what my next year is going to look like," Cisco, 26, said on Tuesday. "So for myself, being back in the building, back on the team and in a competition to start in the NFL, I'm not going to lose sight of how grateful I have to be in that."

Four days after the Jets signed S Dane Belton from the Giants in free agency and five days after the team traded with Miami for veteran S Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cisco re-upped with the Green & White for another year.

Cisco had an interception in last Friday's preseason victory at Pittsburgh and is locked in a competition with Belton and others for a starting job beside Fitzpatrick.

"I don't see them all that differently," DC Brian Duker said on Tuesday. "I think both of those guys [Cisco and Belton] do a pretty good job being rangy in the deep parts of the field. I think they both have done a good job with their tackling. I don't see them as necessarily like the old school free safety. I think both those guys have the skill set to do both. So I wouldn't say there's a huge skill set discrepancy between those guys."

Cisco was Jacksonville's selection in Round 3 (No. 65 overall) out of Syracuse in the 2021 NFL Draft. Over his four seasons in Florida, Cisco played in 63 games (47 starts), had 8 INT (including a pick-6), 24 PD and made 229 tackles (180 solo). With the Green & White in 2025, he had 41 tackles in 2025, which was the second most on the team at the time of his injury, 1 TFL, and 1 FR.

He said he welcomes the competition in the Jets' strengthened defensive backfield.

"Finding a role within the team is more important than beating somebody out," Cisco said after the Jets wrapped up their training camp practices ahead of Friday night's preseason final against the Giants. "We're all on the same team. I want to solidify a role so I can contribute.

"There are roles within the team. So there are certain roles if you prove your value, they're going to find a way to get you on the field, and that's from top to bottom. To get on the field, you need to prove your value each and every day. You may be a starter now, and you're not proving your value, that's when things start to change."

It's all about belief and visualizing success, he said.

"I honestly say for me moving forward, it's mainly about confidence," Cisco said. "Any time you're doing something, whether it's tackling, blocking, you have to do it with confidence. There are two types of confidence. Believing you can do it and seeing yourself do it. Me seeing myself make plays on the field, taking the ball away at a clip I'm used to and I'm familiar with, that's important for me in my development."