Jets can’t let constant losing wreck their promising young core

The weight of constant losing can have damaging long-term effects on players trying, in vain, to turn it around.

We’re not talking about a lost season when everything simply went wrong. We’re talking about a succession of losing seasons and the cumulative effect. Those can wreck promising careers, send players’ psyches into dark places from which they cannot recover and realize their potential.

I’ve witnessed it first-hand with the Jets, having covered them for more than three decades. I’ve seen top-end core players become psychologically broken from the constant losing. I watched the likes of cornerback James Hasty, linebacker Mo Lewis and safety Brian Washington become embittered by the yearly losing in the 90s.

And, with this current Jets run of futility, I’m concerned about the team’s core players such as receiver Garrett Wilson, cornerback Sauce Gardner, running back Breece Hall and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson.