Jets continue rebuilding WR corps, sign Josh Reynolds

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Continuing to rebuild their wide receiving corps, the New York Jets signed well-traveled veteran Josh Reynolds to a one-year contract Thursday.

Reynolds, 30, will receive $2.75 million in guarantees, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. He’s another experienced target for presumptive quarterback Justin Fields, but the Jets aren’t done yet at receiver. They need another playmaker to complement Garrett Wilson and likely will draft a wideout.

Wilson and Allen Lazard are the only holdovers with more than 27 career receptions, and there’s a good chance Lazard will be jettisoned as a post-June 1 release that would create $11 million in cap savings. They’ve already cut one key component from the group — Davante Adams, who was released before free agency in a cap-related move and later signed with the Los Angeles Rams.

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Reynolds is like Lazard, 29, in that he’s a big receiver (6-foot-3), and their career numbers are almost identical — 233 receptions and 3,127 yards for Reynolds, 229 receptions and 3,077 yards for Lazard. The Jets recently gave Lazard permission to seek a trade — a sign they’re prepared to move on from him.

Right now, their top receivers are Wilson, Reynolds and Tyler Johnson, whom they signed in free agency to a one-year, $1.3 million contract. They also have Xavier Gipson and Malachi Corley, a 2024 third-round pick who saw minimal action as a rookie.

Coach Aaron Glenn is familiar with Reynolds, as they overlapped for three years with the Detroit Lions (2021-23). In fact, he was a starter for them in 2023, when he finished fourth on the team in receptions (40). The Lions’ passing game coordinator was Tanner Engstrand, who is now Glenn’s offensive coordinator.

In 2024, Reynolds signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Denver Broncos, where current Jets general manager Darren Mougey was a member of the front office.

It was a disappointing and almost tragic season for Reynolds, who missed time with a fractured finger and also was shot in the left arm and back of the head. He suffered only minor injuries.

Reynolds and two others told police they were at a strip club in Glendale, Colorado, and left at 2:45 a.m. Reynolds and one of the men left in an SUV, and they later told police they were followed by multiple vehicles and shots were fired.

In December, Reynolds was released by the Broncos and claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who cut him March 6.

“It’s one of those things I’d rather put behind me,” Reynolds told reporters in Jacksonville about the shooting. “But anybody going through that, man, it’s a crazy ordeal.”

Reynolds, a fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2017, has played for five teams. His best season came with the Rams in 2020, when he made 52 catches for 618 yards — both career highs.