Ex-Jets Star Recalls Owner Woody Johnson Being Mean to Him Unnecessarily

Despite being the owner, Woody Johnson is not a popular figure in the New York Jets facility. Fans caught a glimpse of the brass side of his personality in a recent incident involving quarterback 

Fields’ inability to deliver a single win in the first seven games of the season displeased Johnson so much that he publicly called out the journeyman shot-caller.

A few days later, the Jets finally opened their account for the season by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals. The outcome could have gone either way, but the Jets held on to secure a one-point victory.

The win meant a lot for Fields as it broke the chain of losses. However, his statement following the game hinted that he had been hiding a lot of pain.

I’m going to get pretty vulnerable right here. This week, I found myself in my closet crying on the ground, lying down. Not because of the hardships, not because of the troubles. I felt like I was built to handle that, and I was put in place to handle this situation.

Similar to Fields, another Jets quarterback may have endured harsh words from Johnson in the past.

Jordan Travis, this name may sound familiar to natives of the Big Apple, particularly to fans who keep a keen eye on college football. Travis was the catalyst of the 2023 Florida State team that went unbeaten in the regular season before he suffered a leg injury that ended the Seminoles’ season.

The Jets drafted Travis in the fifth round (171 overall) in 2024 and placed him on IR. However, his recovery process failed, and he retired from football without even throwing a pass in the NFL.

Speaking with his older brother and former Toronto Blue Jay star Devon Travis on the Travis Take Two podcast, Jordan spilled the beans about a conversation with Woody Johnson when he was on IR.

I mean no disrespect [to Woody Johnson], but there were things that were said to me… about my leg. Like, just slick comments… It kind of made me feel a certain type of way. I told you about a few of them. ‘You ever gonna get healthy?’ and I’m just like, ‘Damn.’ Not, ‘How you feel,’ never that. It was always like, comments like that. And that’s kind of upset me, but kind of rolled over my head.

Jordan Travis said

Woody Johnson knows that he is not a good owner

The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini recently published an article documenting a series of conversations with several owners across the NFL. One of them was Johnson.

During their chit-chat, Johnson revealed that he is not a good owner in terms of winning football games.

I think the players can relate to me in some ways, even though I don’t have their background. I have a certain amount of empathy, I think, that they can feel. I can’t be them. I don’t have their background. I didn’t grow up in their neighborhood. There’s no way I can completely understand what they went through and their life. But I think they know that I’m an understanding person. I’m willing to listen to anybody to tell me anything they want to tell me. I’m willing to listen to their ideas, too.

Johnson became the Jets owner in 2000. Since then, the Jets hold the fourth-worst win record during that time, 173-238, or .421. The Jets have reached the playoffs six times. However, they haven’t qualified for postseason football since 2010 (currently the longest active playoff drought in the NFL).

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