Robert Saleh, Jets Explain Reasoning Behind Preseason Decisions

In 2023, the New York Jets opted to play their entire starting lineup in the final preseason game of the schedule leading into Week 1.

This season, head coach Robert Saleh is taking a different approach.

With a roster full of top talent and some aging stars, New York's head coach is opting to protect his roster before the start of the regular season ahead of time. Of course, there are other reasons why Saleh altered his preseason plans this season.

"Different reasons last year, as compared to this year. I'm not going to get into those," Saleh explained. "I feel like we've gotten so much good work with three quality opponents over the course of three weeks, last year we didn't scrimmage with the Giants, this year we've had three different scrimmages, and I feel like the work we've gotten in has been very productive."

New York did hold joint practice last season with all three preseason teams last season including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, and New York Giants - similar to how they handled things in 2024.

The big difference has been practice reps for the starting lineup. Saleh suggested the starting offense had taken over 300 reps in practice during camp - a strong increase from the year before.

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With more reps, the team has felt more comfortable with what they have seen - putting them in a spot to rest their more important pieces for 2024 during meaningless preseason games.

Now, it's up to the players to show that Saleh's decision-making was a smart one.