{"id":259375,"date":"2025-12-17T14:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=259375"},"modified":"2025-12-17T12:31:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T17:31:41","slug":"jets-give-backup-tight-end-jeremy-ruckert-an-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/17\/jets-give-backup-tight-end-jeremy-ruckert-an-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets Give Backup Tight End Jeremy Ruckert an Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Jets&#8217; front office clearly believes that December is the season of giving, as they&#8217;ve handed out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorkjets.com\/news\/jets-sign-jeremy-ruckert-contract-extension-12-17-2025\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">another contract extension<\/a>. Last week, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/12\/jets-sign-starting-center-josh-myers-to-a-two-year-extension\/\" target=\"_self\">starting center Josh Myers<\/a>. This week, it is backup tight end <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/jeremy-ruckert\/\" target=\"_self\">Jeremy Ruckert<\/a>. His deal is similar to Myers&#8217;. Myers got 2 years, $11 million, and Ruckert got 2 years, $10 million, a solid payday. The young tight end was a very cool story when he was drafted. He grew up on Long Island in Lindenhurst, New York. His Dad is a huge Jets fan, and you could see it on draft night with how excited he was:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jeremy Ruckert\u2019s dad won draft weekend. <\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf8 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jeremy_Ruckert1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Jeremy_Ruckert1<\/a> | <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NFLDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NFLDraft<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UFJSZyiSB8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UFJSZyiSB8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; HALL of GOATS (@GOATS_hall) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GOATS_hall\/status\/1520795036237152256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Now, he and his family get to continue living the dream. However, the path to this point was not an easy one.<\/p>\n<h3>Jeremy Ruckert&#8217;s Jets Turnaround<\/h3>\n<p>Jeremy Ruckert was drafted in 2022 as a 3rd round selection, but he never got a chance to start. The 2022 season saw him overshadowed by both <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/tyler-conklin\/\" target=\"_self\">Tyler Conklin<\/a> and C.J. Uzomah. He appeared in three games that season, registering just one catch for 8 yards. The next season (2023) saw a major uptick for the young tight end relative to the previous. He appeared in all but three games this time and ended the season with 16 catches for 151 yards. He had a solid 55.0 run blocking grade according to PFF for that season as well. Finally, 2024 saw very similar receiving production as 2023, as he had 18 catches for 105 yards. However, the run blocking took a major step down as he ended that season with an abysmal 39.0.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_147410\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-147410\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-147410 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/09\/Jeremy-Ruckert-1024x725.jpg\" alt=\"Jeremy Ruckert\" width=\"640\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/09\/Jeremy-Ruckert-1024x725.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/09\/Jeremy-Ruckert-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/09\/Jeremy-Ruckert-768x544.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/09\/Jeremy-Ruckert.jpg 1504w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-147410\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert (89) gestures to the crowd in the second half. The Jets defeat the Bills in overtime, 22-16, in the home opener at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, in East Rutherford.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After that season, much of the fanbase had given up on the Ohio State product. Jeremy Ruckert had never been given extended looks as a receiver, and he had devolved into a negative run blocker. The new regime of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/aaron-glenn\/\" target=\"_self\">Aaron Glenn<\/a> and Darren Mougey clearly doesn&#8217;t see him as a starter either. They drafted <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/05\/07\/mason-taylor-jets-impact-breakout\/\" target=\"_self\">Mason Taylor<\/a> in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft so he could take over the starting role now that Tyler Conklin was off the roster. However, they hadn&#8217;t given up on Ruckert as a backup. Tanner Engstrand has begun to unlock Jeremy Ruckert in the backup role. He has 20 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown in 2025, all career highs. His usage echoes that of Lions backup tight end Brock Wright, whom Engstrand coached around in his previous occupation. He also improved as a run blocker, as he currently has a 57.7 grade. The Jets clearly had plans for him in 2025, and he executed well. A well-earned deal.<\/p>\n<h3>The Jets Might Not Be Done Yet<\/h3>\n<p>As mentioned earlier, the Jets have now gotten two contract extensions done in December &#8211; Josh Myers and Jeremy Ruckert. This may not be the end, though, as the Jets have impending free agents that they may want to get back for 2026 and beyond. The Athletic&#8217;s Zack Rosenblatt outlined a few of them this morning:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some other candidates for early extensions:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; K Nick Folk<br \/>&#8211; KR Kene Nwangwu<br \/>&#8211; John Simpson OR Alijah Vera-Tucker (will likely be only one of them returning)<br \/>&#8211; DT Harrison Phillips: only has one year left on his deal after this season and his salary is non-guaranteed<\/p>\n<p>I don&#39;t\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AUY93RnivE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/AUY93RnivE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZackBlatt\/status\/2001299191104934079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/nick-folk\/\" target=\"_self\">Nick Folk<\/a> decides to play next season, it&#8217;s probably a no-brainer. The front office will still have to consider his age (he turned 41 this past November), but the numbers have not lied this season. He&#8217;s 25\/26 on field goals so far this season, including 7\/8 from beyond 50 yards. One of those long field goals was the game-winner against the Falcons. He has earned an extension. Kene Nwangwu has also earned an extension as he is one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/thejetpress.com\/kene-nwangwu-already-one-best-kick-returners-nfl-history-seriously-01k9xhsesrpa\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most electric returners in football<\/a>. However, he has to be healthy in order to show it. That&#8217;ll be the one thing the Jets take into consideration there. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/harrison-phillips\/\" target=\"_self\">Harrison Phillips<\/a> has definitely earned an extension and is the most likely to happen out of these 5 players. He&#8217;s been a premier run defender this season and deserves some guaranteed money.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the offensive line situation is fascinating. The Jets have 4\/5 starters locked in for 2026, with the exception being left guard. There&#8217;s a high chance it&#8217;s either <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/john-simpson\/\" target=\"_self\">John Simpson<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/alijah-vera-tucker\/\" target=\"_self\">Alijah Vera-Tucker<\/a>. Both have their negatives. Simpson has drawn the second-most penalties of the starting five offensive linemen (8). Vera-Tucker doesn&#8217;t have that same penalty problem, but he has suffered multiple season-ending injuries in the NFL. Comparing their ceilings as players, the higher one is probably AVT, but Simpson may offer a higher floor. This will be an underrated storyline to watch in the spring.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: [Robert Deutsch] &#8211; Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Jets continue handing out extensions in December, this time rewarding Jeremy Ruckert for his play at backup tight end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5648,"featured_media":259388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,6],"tags":[33883,33967,9019,8070,33014],"class_list":["post-259375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-jets","tag-2026-nfl-free-agency","tag-contract-extension","tag-jeremy-ruckert","tag-josh-myers","tag-mason-taylor"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259375"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":259385,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259375\/revisions\/259385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}