Jets running back Breece Hall likes to be where his feet are -- firmly in the present. Now, and for the foreseeable future Hall's feet and the rest of him will be locked in with the Green & White after he signed a multi-year contract. On Tuesday, in his first press conference with the local media since reaching agreement, Hall said he's excited by the moves the club has made across the offseason.

"Just the fact that they [GM Darren Mougey and HC Aaron Glenn] brought a proven veteran like [QB] Geno Smith and then we drafted some really good guys," Hall said. "And I'm still getting to know everybody, too. So just seeing that let me know that, OK, we're really trying to build something here.

"And AG always telling me that I'm his guy. So him always instilling that confidence or telling me that he has that confidence in me, and the confidence I have in myself is very big. So, it definitely meant a lot for me because they showed me and told me that they wanted me to be a part of this thing. So, I'm definitely happy to be here."

The Jets had placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Hall on March 3, which started the clock running toward a July 15 date to reach agreement on a new contract. The tag tied Hall to the Jets for the coming season but also allowed him to talk to other teams. The Jets held the right to match any offer, or to opt to let Hall walk now while picking up two additional first-round draft picks.

Hall, 24, conceded that his first four seasons with the Jets after being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft have at times been challenging. Many of his teammates and friends from that draft class are no longer with the club. But Hall said that he and WR Garrett Wilson, the No. 10 overall pick that year, each sensed a positive change.

"It's definitely been a lot," Hall said. "Me and Garrett talked about it. That shows we've been through a lot. It hasn't always been perfect. We've had a lot of ups and downs, but everybody knows that we're here for the long haul, and we're willing to deal with the good, the bad, the ugly, but also the positives, too. So I think for me and G, it's like we want to show who we are and what we can do on a consistent basis. We feel like we're finally getting to a position, and our coaches are putting us into a position where we can really just take that stress cap off and just be ourselves."

Last season, Hall (5-11, 217) rushed for 1,065 yards while becoming the first Jet since Chris Ivory in 2015 to reach 1,000 rush yards. Of the 19 1,000-yard seasons in franchise history, Hall's 4.38 yards per carry average was the sixth highest. The backfield workhorse also hauled in 36 receptions for 350 yards, totaling 1,415 yards from scrimmage and 5 TDs. In 56 career games (50 starts), Hall has averaged 4.5 yards per carry and amassed 3,398 yards on the ground with 18 TDs. He also has 188 career receptions and 9 receiving TDs. Hall enters 2025-26 as the franchise's 12th-leading rusher, needing 888 yards to jump into fourth place.

"We finally got the pieces around us as a team, especially with this new draft class coming in," he said. "It's going to take a little more off of my shoulders. Geno is going to help us out a lot. Kenyon Sadiq, Omar Cooper Jr., David Bailey, all those guys are going to help us out a lot. So it's going to help us be able to play more free and just be ourselves. So I think me and Garrett have already talked about that, and I think that's the thing we're most excited for."

With the team's new offensive coordinator Frank Reich speaking openly about his intention to count on the Jets' rushing attack behind an established offensive line, Hall said their initial interactions have been positive and encouraging.

"I feel like I'm the only running back that's consistently a top 10 back in the league that hasn't in the past always the most ideal situation," Hall said. "So I feel like now AG and Moug ... I feel like they really put me in position with all the guys we brought in and the team we're ready to flourish and for me to really be myself. So, God willing, we stay healthy and everything goes as planned. I feel like this could be my best season."