One of the most satisfying aspects of Jamien Sherwood's decision to re-sign with the Jets this week and work with GM Darren Mougey and HC Aaron Glenn was the genuine respect Sherwood felt during their first face-to-face conversation.
"From our first conversation, the first time we got to meet each other [after] just watching me through a TV screen, never hearing me say a word, and they can understand what type of person I am and how I play the game of football," Sherwood told team reporter Caroline Hendershot. "So, they did their due diligence. I appreciate that. And again, I just would love the opportunity to play for guys like that."
That "opportunity" won't be long in coming after Sherwood, 25, put pen to paper on a new three-year contract -- a pact that recognizes a position change, recovery from a torn Achilles tendon as a rookie in 2021, an acceptance of a limited role (mostly on special teams) and then a breakout 2024 NFL season.
Sherwood (6-2, 216) stepped in for the injured defensive captain C.J. Mosley at middle linebacker. In 17 games (16 starts), he tied for the NFL lead in solo tackles (95) and was tied for fourth with a career-high total takedowns (154). He added 10 TFL, 3 PD and a pair of sacks.
Perhaps most impressive for a guy who was a stalwart safety in college at Auburn and has matured into a fearless MLB was the way he went about his business -- quiet, steady and respectful of his teammates, and the game he plays so well.
"I've made a home here and a lot of my friends here on the team, guys like Quincy [Williams]. C.J. [Mosley], the list goes on," said Sherwood, a native of Jensen Beach, FL. "I built a bond with guys like that, and it would hurt me to go somewhere else, whether I'm successful or not, I would like to share the field with those guys. And again, my family's got comfortable up here. We [had] never been to New York before this. We made this a second home. So to me, it was very important to stay here."
After three seasons in college at Auburn, Sherwood was selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft (No. 146 overall) and was instantly penciled in as one of the team's linebackers of the future. But he sustained a torn Achilles tendon in Week 7 of his rookie season and was placed on injured reserve after appearing in five games and finishing with 15 tackles. This past season, he stepped into the oversized shoes of Mosley when the captain and veteran was limited to 2 games because of a series of injuries. For several years he went to school watching Mosley, now school's out and Sherwood has assumed his place at the head of the class.
In the eyes of some people, a fifth-round draft pick making a position change and then being sidelined early by injury might not qualify as a future key player. But Sherwood, in a steady and understated way stayed the course, put in the work and was recognized by the Jets' new football brainstrust as an important player on defense. In fact, Mougey, at his introductory news conference in January, said one of his goals was to hold onto the team's talented homegrown players.
"It's easy to just get deterred and to get defeated by stuff like that, especially an injury that was my first one," Sherwood said. "But, you know, again, just having the people that I've been around these last four years, no matter who's here and who's not here, each person has touched me in some way, somehow. And again just to keep my head down and keep going, we got some great players, people that have done amazing things in this league. For me, that's just motivation to be just like them."
Now with a new contract and a new season inching closer, it all comes down to four words for Sherwood: "I want to win."
He added: "That's the most important thing. And my whole thing was, if I wasn't able to accomplish something like this, no matter the amount of money that I'm making in this league, it was to show the people that have poured into me that it wasn't for no reason. If I'm not able to do that for the people next to me, after me, I felt like I didn't do a good job. So regardless of what happens on the field, it's to bring the people around me up, just to keep motivating people sharing my story, and again, not letting what's in front of you defeat you. There's always light at the end of the tunnel, but again, the main thing is just help my teammates become better players."
