The NFL may stand for National Football League, but it's also referred to as "Not for Long" since change is perpetual across the 32 teams.

The Jets, who finished 5-12, enter the offseason with an interim head coach, interim general manager, questions if Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers wants to play in 2025 and a handful of starters with expiring contracts. Whether there are new or the same faces in the organization, the Green & White can lock up its young nucleus of players drafted in 2022 -- All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner, WR Garrett Wilson, Pro Bowl edge rusher Jermaine Johnson and RB Breece Hall -- who are eligible for contract extensions.

"I want to be a part of the change in this organization," Gardner told reporters Monday when asked if he's seeking a new deal. "I want to be a part of this for a long time. Obviously one person can't change it, but I want to be one of the reasons to change. I'm going to just let my agent handle it. He's going to do his job, I'm going to focus on doing mine."

Gardner had a down year by his standards after back-to-back first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections in his first two years in the league. The No. 4 overall pick in 2022 played 15 games, battled a hamstring injury since Week 13 and totaled 49 tackles, 9 pass defenses and 1 interception.

"I thought there was moments where his greatness was on full display, there was some growth with him that I thought was amazing in a lot of ways and there are also times where he would admit, too, where he left some stuff out there," interim HC Jeff Ulbrich said. "He is capable of making some plays that maybe he didn't make, but that goes on every human being in this building. We all fell short in some capacity, but it wasn't all bad. It is never as good, it is never as bad, but he had growth and he is a better player today than he was a year ago."

Breece Hall May Have Made History
Jets running back Breece Hall could be the answer to a trivia question if Aaron Rodgers retires this offseason. Rodgers, who said he would take time away from football to decide if he'd like to continue playing next season, threw his final touchdown pass of the season -- and potentially his career -- to Hall.

"I literally just realized that," Hall told reporters postgame. "Damn, that's crazy. I always tell him I appreciate him. He talked in front of the team [Saturday] night and said some stuff that I'll probably carry with me for the rest of my career. Just getting to have a relationship with him over the past two years has been second to none.

"Seeing how people on the outside world see him and then actually talking to him and getting personal with him, knowing the person he actually is, seeing how he carries himself, sometimes I make fun of him for it, but it's just been cool to be around a person like that. There's not really too many people in the world like him. He's one of one."

The 6-yard catch-and-run helped seal the Green & White's 32-20 victory over the Dolphins and was Rodgers' fourth touchdown pass of the game, a season high.

New Year New Start
The Jets started the new year on a high note and provided a glimpse of what could have been in the 2024 season. Most of the team's issues throughout the 5-12 season included scoring [its 19.9 points per game ranked No. 24], forcing turnovers [17 takeaways ranked No. 19] and closing out opponents [3-7 in one-score games].

In Week 18, the Jets scored more than 30 points for the second time this season, the defense forced 4 turnovers and Aaron Rodgers threw for 274 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. The offense also sealed the 32-20 victory and stopped a potential Dolphins comeback. Up 25-20 late in the fourth quarter, Rodgers orchestrated a 9-play, 70-yard game-sealing drive.

"Definitely can't help the thought of like, 'Why haven't we done this starting Week 1?' " said WR Garrett Wilson, who had 4 receptions for 51 yards. "To do it in the final game, the first game in 2025, it's what you want to do. You want to start it the right way and we did that [Sunday]."