Sports

Jets RB Breece Hall Makes Bold Claim After Signing Contract Extension

Breece Hall had every reason to be upset about the New York Jets holding onto him at the NFL trade deadline last November.

The Jets were 1-7 and holding a mini fire sale. They traded All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts and traded All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys. The news alert that the Jets had also shipped off Hall seemed like a when-not-if, but the deadline came and went, and Hall remained in New York.

The Jets finished 2025 at 3-14, extending the longest playoff drought in North American sports to 15 seasons, but Hall is happy that he’ll be around to see the sea change.

Hall signed a multi-year extension reportedly worth up to $45.75 million over the weekend. Tuesday, he was asked what he wants to prove moving forward.

“I think it’s a lot,” Hall said. “I feel like I’m the only running back that’s consistently a top 10 back in the league that hasn’t been in the most ideal situation. Now, [head coach Aaron Glenn] and [general manager Darren] Moug[ey], they really put me in position with all the guys we brought in and the team we’re building around us to really 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, for sure.”

The Jets acquired quarterback Geno Smith from the Las Vegas Raiders in March, and they fortified the offense in the 2026 NFL Draft in late April.

The Jets spent the second overall pick on Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, but former Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq (No. 16 overall) and former Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (No. 30 overall) went off the board to New York later in the first round.

New York drafted Hall in the second round of the 2022 draft. He immediately showed promise as a rookie, but he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in October 2022. Since then, Hall has been the most consistent thing about the Jets’ entire franchise. Last year, he rushed for 1,065 yards and four touchdowns.

The Jets are interesting on paper, but they’ve failed to translate on-paper potential to on-field results for well over a decade. Hall has never contributed to that problem; subpar quarterback play has been the main culprit. It would be an incredible story if Smith, the Jets’ second-round pick in 2013, leads them to the playoffs 13 years after he was promised as the quarterback who would do it.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 1:56 PM.

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