When the Jets begin preseason action Friday night against the Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium, there are four things that head coach Aaron Glenn will be looking for from the Green & White.
"I want to see the fundamentals of the game show up," Glenn said after Wednesday's joint practice with Tampa Bay. "When I say that, I want to see blocking, tackling, catching, ball security, punching the ball … I want to see the techniques behind that also. I want to make sure that we operate in that aspect when it comes to the game, then I want to see us execute … and I want to see the discipline of our team."
It'll be the first of three preseason looks for Glenn before the Week 1 trip to Tennessee. The Jets will travel to Pittsburgh next week and return to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants at the end of the month.
Preseason Plan
Glenn had a simple answer when asked about who will take the field on Friday night: "Everyone's playing."
The Jets installed two new systems this offseason and Glenn thinks it's "important for our guys to play," but there's also science behind his decision.
"What they say is when you have joint practices where the ones get a lot of reps and then you have that many plays, 25-30 in a preseason game, throughout those three games, the risk of injury actually goes down in that first part of the year," Glenn said.
He hasn't decided how he will split up those 25-to-30 reps among the veterans, but all are eager to face live game action.
"This game can really only be played one way and it's 100 miles per hour," said LB Demario Davis, who is starting his 15th NFL season. "I think so much of it is about your approach to get ready for a game, so even in the preseason game you need to be treating those like a regular season game. … All of the great players that I've been around who've had phenomenal careers, Hall of Fame guys, that's how they approached it.
"So, I don't think you need to reinvent the wheel, just follow the mold."
A Different Intensity
In practice, players aren't being fully tackled to the ground — Glenn calls that intensity "thud competitive."
"That's when we have the pads on and what I want our guys to do, any runner that's in the box, or in the paint, listen we're thudding them up, we're stopping the ball," Glenn explained. "The runners know it, and then they're finishing their run."
But the preseason game will bring out another level of physicality, and there's a benefit to that, too.
"Just to get a few carries in whether it's five plays, six plays and get some tackles to the ground, maybe get some blitz pressure and pick up another guy blitzing that's trying to run through me and get a sack and everything like that," RB Breece Hall said, excited to get tackled. "So I think it's definitely good to get a little feel of it, a little taste of it."
Added S Minkah Fitzpatrick: "You want to break in the shoulder pads, get a couple good tackles in, get a couple shocking sheds in."
Fitzpatrick also noted a benefit of "developing chemistry" from a communication standpoint.
Check out the top photos from the third week of the 2026 Jets training camp at the Atlantic Health Training Center featuring a pair of joint practices with the Buccaneers.
Rookies' First Rodeo
Because the vets are playing a limited number of reps, the younger Jets will have a chance to experience live game action. For the rookies, it'll be their first taste of the NFL.
QB Cade Klubnik who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft at No. 110 overall, will gain valuable experience in this first preseason battle.
"I remember coach [Dabo] Sweeney used to say the best way to play football and get better at football is by playing football, and to be really just thrown in the fire and get live reps," Klubnik said Wednesday. "Being able to learn and have success, have failure and being able to come to the end of the day and always just learn, it's been great."
TE Kenyon Sadiq and CB D'Angelo Ponds won't see action on Friday, but Glenn is confident they will be back for Week 1. Ponds could return to practice even sooner.
The Jets' selection at No. 2 overall, David Bailey, has impressed many throughout camp and this week's joint practices, as well as the other rookie addition to the defensive line, Darrell Jackson Jr.
"He's a big strong human being," defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said. "I mean he's adapted to what we are doing, and I think that bodes well for us, because we've got an extra piece in the puzzle."
