After team meetings wrap up Saturday night in Nashville, Aaron Glenn won't be up too late thinking about the first test for the 2026 Jets on Sunday against the Titans.
"I'll be totally honest, and this is how I've been my whole career, even as a player, man I sleep like a baby," Glenn said. "I feel like I put so much time in during the week that, man, that's a time for me to really rest my mind and I feel good about the prep that I can confidently go home that night and go to bed and wake up fresh and ready to go."
On Friday, Glenn spoke with the media for the final time before he and the team head to Tennessee.
Injury Updates
Aaron Glenn announced that WR Tim Patrick (groin) and Edge Joseph Ossai (foot) have been ruled out of Sunday's game.
"Ossai is getting better and better. Again, I see him week-to-week," Glenn said. "I'm looking for him to see how he's going to operate in practice next week."
Two other players, RB Kene Nwangwu and rookie CB D'Angelo Ponds are doubtful. Nwangwu's back tightened during Thursday's practice and Glenn likes where Ponds is physically, but he still needs more practice reps after returning from a calf strain.
RB Breece Hall, RB Isaiah Davis and rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq are all expected to play and "are ready to go," according to Glenn.
The Kicking Decision
HC Aaron Glenn said on Friday that Jason Sanders will kick in the season opener against the Titans.
"Jason will kick this week. He has most of the reps," Glenn said. "The thing is, with [Blake] Grupe, I want to make sure he gets a solid chance. He just got here last week and hasn't had a lot of chances to really work with Henny [Thomas Hennessy] and Mac [Austin McNamara].
"I want this thing to play out, but Jason will be kicking this week."
Sanders, who will be elevated from the practice squad, missed the 2025 season due to a hip injury and signed with the Jets in June. In 2018, Sanders was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round, and he ranks No. 3 in Dolphins' franchise history with 826 points.
His 84.6% field-goal percentage is the highest (minimum 50 attempts) in team annals. In 2024, Sanders set a team mark with 27 consecutive made field-goal attempts and he has connected on an NFL-high nine consecutive field goals from 50-plus yards."
Jets hit the practice field for their final time before their first game of the 2026 regular season.
Balancing Emotions
DT T'Vondre Sweat and CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. both landed with the Jets via trades with the Tennessee Titans.
"I'm pretty fired up," Brownlee said. "I do want to see us go out there as a defense, really as a team and show what we've been, you know, putting all this work for in the offseason."
Brownlee is a tone-setter in the secondary and has led in the meeting room as well.
"He has grown so much from last year going to this year, and it's more than just controlling his emotions, it's how he operates in the meeting room and how he's become more of a leader within that defensive back room on the standards on how we want to operate," Glenn said.
Brownlee said he'll be "focused and locked in" against the Titans and is ready to challenge QB Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 Draft, in a game.
"He loves to compete, you know, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of trash talking between me and him because that's my guy," Brownlee said. "He's very good with his standard plays and making plays with his legs and getting the ball downfield, so more than anything we have to keep him in the pocket and give him different disguises and showing where he thinks we in, we're not in."
More Than Size to Sweat
It'll be easy to tell when DT T'Vondre Sweat is on the field for the play. At 6-4, 366, Sweat has the ability to fill two gaps, but there's more to him than just his size.
"I would say his ability to work with defensive ends on his side," DT Harrison Phillips said about what other aspects of Sweat's game impress him. "Sometimes players get extra excited when they feel like they have a one-on-one rush or anticipation of a pass player, run play or something like that, that they can lose sight of when color crosses their face.
"I think he does a really good job of feeling the rush."
The Jets can show multiple looks with their defensive line because of its added size and depth.
"Our position flexibility has been great," Phillips said. "I think that his presence is super felt and I know the offensive line always has their attention toward him. ... I'm thankful he's on our side."
