The Jets have re-signed TE Jelani Woods and exercised their exclusive rights tender on DT Jowon Briggs and LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball.
The Jets initially claimed Woods (6-7, 253) off waivers last August. He played in 60 offensive snaps and 12 special teams snaps over four games. A third round-selection of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Virginia product appeared in 15 games during his rookie season and recorded 25 receptions for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns. He missed the 2023 and the 2024 seasons with hamstring and turf toe injuries.
Briggs (6-1, 313), acquired via trade from Cleveland at the end of training camp, registered several career highs while finishing with 38 tackles, including 8 TFL, 4 sacks, 36 pressures and 1 FF. Briggs logged 270 snaps as an interior pass rusher, where he posted a 12.6% pressure rate, the fifth highest among all players with 250-plus + pass rush snaps from the interior.
McCrary-Ball (6-0, 214), voted a special teams captain prior to the 2024-25 season, was limited to five games after sustaining a hamstring injury in a Week 3 game against the Buccaneers in Tampa. The third-year linebacker, who played collegiately at Indiana, recorded 23 tackles.
Exclusive rights free agents (ERFAs) are players with fewer than three accrued seasons and expiring contracts. With the Jets exercising their tender rights, neither Briggs nor McCrary-Ball can enter into negotiations with other NFL teams.
