The Jets have announced six players will be season-long captains for the 2025 regular season. The leadership group selected by its teammates is represented by QB Justin Fields, RG Alijah Vera-Tucker and WR Garrett Wilson on offense, LB Jamien Sherwood and Quinnen Williams on defense and LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball on special teams.
QB Justin Fields
The Jets signed Fields (6-3, 227) early in free agency after indicating they would exhaust all their options at quarterback this offseason. Fields, who has improved his completion percentage, passer rating and INT numbers each of his first four pro seasons and is an explosive runner, quickly made a favorable first impression with his teammates.
"He's real cool, calm and collected, and brings another sense of calm to the offense and just seeing how he works and how diligent he is and how he cares," said RB Breece Hall of Fields during OTAs. "He's trying to gain relationships with everybody and how he goes about his business. It's been fun so far. He gets hype like everybody else. He's young like us, so we talk about a lot of the same stuff. We can hang out on the weekends, and it's just been cool to be around. He's a good dude."
RG Alijah Vera-Tucker
A first-round pick of the Jets (No. 14 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft, Vera-Tucker started all 43 games he appeared in the past four seasons. He displayed his OL versatility when called on, logging starts at every position except center since his rookie season and starting at RG, RT and LT in '22. He is the longest-tenured Jets offensive lineman and will line up between either Joe Tippmann or Josh Myers at C and rookie RT Armand Membou.
"We have a lot of guys on this team who know how to come in and work," Vera-Tucker said. "Once you have that and you establish that in the locker room, it kind of just makes everybody follow that, so I think we're lucky to have a lot of guys who are built like that."
WR Garrett Wilson
After signing a long-term extension with the Jets, Wilson, one of five NFL players to register 80+ receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first three seasons, is known for his competitive zeal and work ethic.
"For me, it's never been as much of the vocal thing," he said this summer. "With that said, every now and then a time comes up and you have to say something, but it's always been out at practice. How do you go about your business? How do you go about your practice prep? How do you go about your week leading up to a game? Those are the things that, even more, I I've got to be on, right? Knowing that people are watching and just giving them great things that they can steal from my routine, steal from my training, from my practice habits, stuff like that, just because I know that people believe in me around here and whatever the stuff I've been doing, they deem that it works, so let's bring some people with you, and that's the mindset."
LB Jamien Sherwood
The Jets philosophy under GM Darren Mougey and HC Aaron Glenn is to draft, develop and keep their own. Not only did they lock up CB Sauce Gardner and WR Garrett Wilson prior to training camp with extensions, but they also gave Sherwood a new deal at the onset of free agency.
Last season, Sherwood stepped in for injured defensive captain C.J. Mosley at middle linebacker. In 17 games (16 starts), the Curis Matin Team MVP tied for the NFL lead in solo tackles (95) and was tied for fourth with a career high in total takedowns (154). He added 10 TFL, 3 PD and a pair of sacks.
"That's one of the reasons we got him is not only is he a tone setter, but he has a voice that everybody listens to," said Glenn after the Jets' second joint practice with the Giants. "You want that out of your middle linebacker, who is actually standing in front of the huddle, because there's a respect factor when it comes to that regard."
DT Quinnen Williams
A foundational piece on the defensive interior, Williams, a three-time Pro Bowler who has 39 sacks and 290 tackles in his first six seasons, continues to emphasize daily improvement.
"I am one of those guys that is built primarily about the process, not about the playoffs, not about the Super Bowl," he said. "But every single week, can I win? Every single day, can I win that day? And those small wins add up to the big wins like potentially going to the playoffs or potentially going to the Super Bowl. But I have to focus on winning today, winning tomorrow, getting better every single day and hopefully that ultimate goal will get achieved."
LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball
An undrafted free agent who initially signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, McCrary-Ball had stints on the practice squad and the active roster with the Jets in 2023 and '24. He became a special teams regular last season over 12 games, appearing in 200 snaps and recording 7 coverage tackles, tied for second-most on the Jets.
