The New York Jets have had some absolute legends walk through their doors. That includes Joe Namath, one of the most famous quarterbacks of all-time. They also had a superstar running back in Curtis Martin and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson.
That's just the tip of the iceberg though. We could go on for days about the talent in that organization. Darrelle Revis had one of the best primes a cornerback has ever seen. Meanwhile, Don Maynard and Joe Klecko are franchise legends.
What about the players that were legends in football that made brief appearances for the team though? So brief, that you would be forgiven in you forgot they ever even played for New York.
Here are the five best players to wear a Jets' uniform that you may not remember.
5. Ed Reed
Ed Reed played for the Baltimore Ravens and only the Baltimore Ravens, right? Not exactly.
While it's true that the superstar defensive back spent nearly his entire career there, he had one year out of the franchise.
Reed was drafted by the Ravens back in 2002. He became an immediate star.
The safety then spent the next 11 years of his career with Baltimore. However, in 2013 he played one final season. That year he played for two teams, the Houston Texans and the Jets.
Both short stints (seven games each) are very forgettable. For some reason though, his run with New York seems even less memorable.
In seven games, Reed recorded three interceptions, four pass deflections and 22 tackles. All much better numbers than his time in Houston.
Reed also ended his career with the Jets. For some reason, the Texans stick a little better though. Maybe because that's the team that he started his last season with.
Either way, his time in New York certainly isn't what most people think about when they see the superstar.
4. Alan Faneca
Alan Faneca spent 13 years in the NFL. The first 10 of those were with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The last one was with the Arizona Cardinals. What about the two in-between, you ask? He was with the Jets.
Faneca is one of the better offensive guards of all-time. He made the Pro Bowl nine times and was a first-team All-Pro six times. He even won a Super Bowl.
To be fair to New York, Faneca did make the Pro Bowl both years he was with them. He did not make it onto the first-team All-Pro though and did not win a Super Bowl there.
He was even on that 2009 Jets team that made the AFC Championship game.
Faneca spent the heavy majority of his career in Pittsburgh though. And that is where most of his accomplishments come from.
Then Arizona is where he finished his career. New York is just a two-year pitstop for a legendary offensive lineman that almost doesn't even seem real.
3. Art Monk
Art Monk is one of the greatest wide receivers of all-time. He is certainly the greatest wide receiver that the Washington football team ever had.
He finished his career with 940 receptions for 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns. 888 of those receptions for 12,026 yards and 65 touchdowns came with Washington.
46 receptions for 581 yards and three touchdowns is what he did in his one year with the Jets in 1994.
At least we aren't talking about the Philadelphia Eagles here. Monk spent three games with them in 1995, recording six receptions for 114 yards.
Monk is a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro. He also won three Super Bowls.
All of that happened with Washington. He wasn't completely done by the time he arrived in New York, but it wasn't the same Monk.
One of the greatest receivers ever played for the Jets, but it was just for one year. This is one of those things most people wouldn't even think about. It would be unsurprising if anyone thought he spent his entire career in Washington.
2. Steve Atwater
Steve Atwater was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1989 and spent the first 10 years of his career there.
In 1999 he went to New York though. And after one year with the Jets, he retired.
Atwater is one of the best defensive backs Denver ever saw. He finished his career with 24 interceptions. All of those came with the Broncos. He also had two defensive touchdowns, both with the Broncos.
His five career sacks? You guessed it, all with the Broncos. Atwater did manage one of his six forced fumbles with the Jets though, so there's that at least.
Atwater is an eight-time Pro Bowler and was on the first-team All-Pro twice. He was also a two-time Super Bowl champion.
All of that happened with the Broncos.
It's almost like you could wipe his season with the Jets off the map and Atwater's career would barely change.
1. Brett Favre
This is an odd one. Because Brett Favre retiring, then unretiring, then retiring only to unretire again is a classic saga.
So you would think people would remember this pretty easily.
In 2008, after one season with the Atlanta Falcons and 16 with the Green Bay Packers, Favre went to the Jets.
He had a somewhat decent season there and got them to 9-7. Then he spent two years with the Minnesota Vikings.
Why is the Jets' season any different than the rest? Especially considering all the craziness that went into it?
Well, everyone else had a little more significance.
Obviously, there is no need to talk about Green Bay. That is the team that is synonymous with Favre.
Atlanta drafted him, so they get that brought up constantly. Meanwhile, Minnesota was the rival team of Green Bay that Favre ended up playing for. He spent two years there and ended his career with them.
Oh, and his 2009 season with the team was one of the best he ever had. New York was just another year in his career, nothing special. So Favre's time there tends to go unremembered.
And when looking at the legendary career that the quarterback had, can you blame anyone for forgetting about the Jets' tenure?
Follow Us
Subscribe