Running back Breece Hall is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but the New York Jets are adamant about keeping their top ballcarrier on the roster. If the sides cannot come to an agreement on a contract extension in the next week, general manager Darren Mougey said the Jets will use either a franchise tag or transition tag.
Given the Jets’ struggles last season and Hall’s looming free agency, the four-year veteran was widely viewed as a prime candidate to be moved at the trade deadline. Instead, he stuck in New York and could be poised to play another year with the franchise that selected him with a second-round pick in 2022.
“The tags are an option,” Mougey said at the NFL Combine. “Ideally we’d find a way to get a deal done and keep Breece around. I think I’ve said that for the last year since I’ve got here. Breece is a good player. Want to find a way to keep him around. We’ve been going through that process and are still doing so. We have a week to find out — if we can’t get to an agreement — which way we’ll go with that tag.”
The deadline to use one of the tags is March 3. That gives the Jets one week to sign Hall to a new deal before paying $14.5 million on a franchise tag or $11.7 million on a transition tag.
While a lack of team success throughout Hall’s career leads to questions about whether the running back would be willing to re-sign with the Jets, Mougey said he believes there is mutual interest in sticking together. That suggests the sides could still get a deal done before March 3.
“I do get the sense that Breece wants to be here,” Mougey said. “We’ve had good conversations throughout the season, after the season. So just finding a way to do that.”
Hall would be among the NFL’s top free agents if he hit the open market. Instead, signs point to him returning to the Meadowlands in some capacity. The most reasonable path to Hall landing on a different roster in 2026 is if the Jets use the transition tag on him, a running back-needy team extends an offer and New York declines to match.
While the Jets have been mired in mediocrity since Hall’s arrival in 2022, the Iowa State product remains a bright spot on the roster and one of the most valuable players around which New York could build. In the three years since a torn ACL halted a stellar rookie season, Hall has been a model of consistency, playing in all but two games and tallying at least 876 rushing yards and four touchdowns per season.
Hall is also among the most prolific receiving backs in the NFL. He is coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season but did take a step backward as a receiver with 36 catches, 350 yards and one touchdown — each representing personal lows for a full season.
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