Does losing Braiden McGregor for the season crush the New York Jets’ pass rush? Not quite. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Jets outside linebacker suffered a torn pectoral in Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears and will miss the rest of the 2026 season.

You never want to see a player go down like that, especially a guy who fought his way onto the roster after being undrafted. With that being said, this injury should not hurt the Jets’ defensive line too much. New York has enough bodies on the edge to absorb the loss. The real question is whether those bodies play up to their potential.

McGregor’s production was limited

Look, we all know how crucial the pass rush and the defensive line are for the Jets. That group is the heartbeat of this defense. But McGregor wasn’t driving it.

Through the first part of the season, McGregor notched eight tackles. He had not recorded a sack or a tackle for loss in the backfield. That doesn’t diminish what he brought in terms of effort and depth, but his absence won’t leave a gaping hole in the production column.

Outside of McGregor, New York’s edge rushers are David Bailey, Will McDonald IV, Kingsley Enagbare, and Joseph Ossai. Most of that group has been productive. Bailey and Enagbare have each recorded two sacks. Ossai has dealt with some injury and hasn’t recorded a sack, but he has more tackles than McGregor did.

Enagbare missed Sunday’s game against Chicago with an injury, and his return will be a big boost. He has been one of the more consistent pieces on this front. The need for him to stay healthy is at an all-time high at this point. 

Will McDonald IV needs to step up

Then there’s Will McDonald IV, who has one sack. I’ll tell you this much: that number has to climb.

McDonald IV has all the talent in the world to be a disruptive pass rusher, and now is the time for him to prove it. With McGregor gone, the snaps and the opportunities are there for the taking. The Jets need McDonald IV to be a consistent problem for opposing tackles, not a guy who flashes once a game. This is a former first round pick who recorded double digit sacks in 2024 and eight sacks a year ago. He has that talent and potential but there are often too many times where McDonald IV seems lost on the field. 

Make no mistake, this goes beyond one player. It’s going to take every one of these edge rushers stepping up to another level, both in getting after the quarterback and in defending the run.

Sunday was a wake-up call

That brings us to the Bears game, which was the defensive line’s worst performance of the season. New York struggled to stop the run all day long and couldn’t get off the field. On top of that, the Jets failed to get consistent pressure on Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent.

That’s not a recipe for winning football. If a defensive front can’t stop the run and can’t rattle the quarterback, there’s not much left to hang your hat on.

Now, I don’t expect that to be the norm the rest of the way. This group has shown too much to fall apart over one bad afternoon. But they certainly need to respond after what happened against Chicago, and the McGregor injury only raises the stakes.

What’s next for McGregor

McGregor went undrafted out of the 2024 draft class, and props to him for making this Jets team and sticking around as long as he has. That’s no small feat.

I would imagine the team would want him back in 2027 if Aaron Glenn is still around. But if things go haywire and New York changes its coaching staff and management, a new regime could move on. If that happens, Sunday’s game in Chicago could have been McGregor’s last in a Jets uniform.

As for this season, the Jets are going to be just fine on the edge without him. The talent is in that room. Now Will McDonald IV and company have to go show it.