The unity of the Jets' offensive line in the past season was not just about all five starters showing up each game and playing 99.2% of the available snaps. It was a mindset as well, and a determination that seems as if it will carry on through the coming season.
John Simpson is one of the most resolute voices in that regard.
"We had a lot of guys that were banged up, myself included," the left guard said after the season had ended. "The mental fortitude, the physical toughness of the guys is huge. A lot of people may not know, but those guys were fighting through ankle injuries, this or that. But they just kept coming every week and fighting, put their heads down and just kept working. And that's the type of guys we've got in this room."
And it's a room that Simpson told the beat reporters on his way out the door and into his offseason that he wanted to be a member of in 2026, despite the struggles the team faced in '25.
"As tough as it was, just taking the field with these guys each and every week, it's just something that I don't want it to be over," he said. "I love taking the field with these guys, man."
But as Simpson added, "I know how this thing goes," referring to being a free agent. The seventh-year player can become an unrestricted free agent in March. He's already made a few career moves, from the Raiders to the Ravens for 2023, then to the Jets the next year. And even though he wants to return, do the Jets want him back?
The 6-4, 330-pounder, who's not even the beefiest member of the line (rookie Armand Membou weighed in at 332), said one reason he made his intentions clear was because of Aaron Glenn, the Jets' now second-year head coach,
"His message is clear," he said. "I want to help this program get on its feet — that's the reason they brought me here in the first place. Obviously, we haven't been able to do that in the last two years, but I do see that this thing is going to take off here soon. I want to be a part of something like that."
Simpson's role in his two seasons in green and white has been as the big interior mauler. The Breece Hall-led running game has improved in yards/carry from 4.24 the season before he arrived to 4.30 to this season's 4.60, eighth in the NFL. His pass protection can improve, but he has cut his holding penalties by more than half, from a hold every 2.4 games his first four seasons to one every 5.7 games in 34 games as a Jet.
He's also gotten a handle on another part of his game, with the help of AG and the coaching staff: his on-field volatility.
"They did a really good job of calming me down, making me more even-keel," Simpson said. "A lot of people know I'm a little hot-headed sometimes when I get out there. But Coach has been talking to me about things like, 'Yes, it's important to back your guys up, but be smart.' And I think I did a better job of that, especially toward the end of the season."
Another set of stats backs up that anger-management analysis. Simpson was flagged for unnecessary roughness three times in the Jets' first 10 games this season, then none over the final seven games. It's a start.
And a start is what all of the Jets' O-linemen talked about, one way or another, for this program during their exit interviews. "I'm still encouraged," said C Josh Myers, who re-signed late in the season. "I trust we're going to come back and have a great season next year."
As does Simpson, who advises the critics to judge the Jets by their first dozen games and not their last five.
"I don't know if you saw the beginning of the year, but those games were close and we were in them," he said, referring to eight one-score contests in their first 12. "That extra finish is all I feel we were missing. I believe in what Coach is saying whole-heartedly. It would be an honor to be a part of something like that this next year."
