Are these 5 New York Jets players on borrowed time heading into Week 4 vs. the Dolphins?

Depending on what side of the fence you stand on regarding this season, it's either a must win game on Monday night for the Jets against the Miami Dolphins or just another in yet another rebuilding season under Aaron Glenn.

The Jets have shown some toughness and played with some passion early in the year, but they're still very much a work in progress as they make the same careless mistakes and have yet to shed the old habits that have plagued them under previous coaching regimes. Whether it's bad penalties or poor tackling, we can argue that had the Jets cleaned up these issues sooner, we would be talking about a team that is potentially 2-1 instead of 0-3.

It's been mostly the same culprits each and every week that have hurt this team at the worst times. Fans and writers are calling for Glenn to make some changes and cut players as quickly as he did Xavier Gipson. If the Jets lose to the Dolphins on Monday night and fall to 0-4, will it be time to make some changes to the starting lineup?

Here are five Jets who could be on borrowed time with another poor performance in Week 4:

Brandon Stephens

The coaching staff is doing the best they can to defend Stephens, but everyone can see right through it.  He’s been awful and it’s fair for the team to continue receiving the criticism for giving him a $36 million contract in free agency.  His tackling has been poor, he takes awful angles and his effort on the James Cook touchdown in Week 2 probably used up any good will Stephens may have had with Jets Nation.  

With that being said, the Jets didn't pay him that much money in free agency to sit on the bench after only four games into the season. GM Darren Mougey moved quickly after last week's loss to the Buccaneers, acquiring Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee, Jr. for a draft pick swap. Mougey and Glenn are sending a message that they've grown tired of his struggles. It's doubtful he will be benched, but a move to safety is the most likely outcome to replace....

Andre Cisco

This was a low-risk, high reward signing the Jets made after Cisco struggled last season with the Jaguars. You would figure that a player who is from New York and grew up a Jets fan would play much better for his childhood team, even after signing a one year, prove-it contract  But, Cisco has frustrated many with his poor coverage as well as poor tackling. While he has a PFF grade of 70.5, ranking him 41st out of 124 safeties, opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 116.7 and he allows an average of 18.3 yards per reception, ninth worst in the league.

The plan was to groom rookie Malachi Moore to take over either later in this season or in 2026. Due to the poor play of Cisco as well as Tony Adams, Moore now has to grow up quickly as he could be playing a bigger role in this Jets secondary sooner than expected. He played well in a small window in Week 3 against Tampa. Another disappointing week for Cisco and Moore could be the new starting safety when the Jets return home in Week 5 against the Cowboys.

Arian Smith

It’s tough to crush a rookie so early in his career, especially when he was selected in the fourth round, but after an impressive training camp and some good work in preseason games, Smith has looked completely overmatched.  He has blazing speed, which is what the Jets loved about him, but they also haven't used that speed to their advantage on offense either. Frustrating matters worse is seeing receivers selected after Smith such as Titans rookie Elic Anomayor off to a better start.

Smith has contributed very little to the offense in three games with only 10 yards on three receptions. He's had some drops and had an offsides penalty for not standing behind the line of scrimmage....on offense!  The Jets did not make any significant moves to improve at wide receiver, electing to sign fringe players like Josh Reynolds and Tyler Johnson, hoping to tap into their potential. Reynolds has missed two games with a hamstring injury, but should be back in Week 4. Johnson, like Smith, has contributed very little on offense this year.

It's been about as rough of a start to a career that you can have for Smith.  But, he’s only played in three NFL games as a rookie so it’s more forgivable for him to go through these struggles.  Despite the slow start, expect him to get plenty of reps as the season progresses to hopefully move up the depth chart.

Micheal Clemons

Aaron Glenn is right.  Clemons looks the part of a pass rusher.  The problem is he’s simply not smart enough to find ways to get the upper hand on the opposition without getting penalized.  He humiliates the defense each and every week with a personal foul penalty and the clip of him getting completely manhandled by Bucs tight end Cade Otton, who is 20 pounds lighter than him, that led to the game winning field goal for Tampa Bay in Week 3 should be enough to release him.

Anyone is better than Clemons at this stage and even if there is no one currently on the Jets roster ready to replace him, it’s still addition by subtraction if they cut him.  Jermaine Johnson is still dealing with an injury and won't play in Week 4 and that's probably the only reason Clemons is still on this roster. At this stage, it would be better to roll the dice on Braiden MacGregor, Eric Watts or rookie Tyler Baron than trust Clemons in a big spot.

Steve Wilks

This is most likely not going to happen, but the Jets defense has looked abysmal in their first three games under Wilks. They've yet to force a turnover which is an all-too familiar trend with any Jets defense.  His blitz heavy scheme has only produced six sacks and the defense is allowing over 340 yards per game.  It's not entirely his fault as players who thrived under Robert Saleh like Jamien Sherwood and Michael Carter II have really struggled out of the gate. Injuries to Johnson, Quincy Williams and Marcelino McCrary-Ball are not helping matters either.

Wilks will get all the time in the world to get the defense playing well.  But, at the same time, Glenn may not have patience for anymore poor play.  They were embarrassed by James Cook and the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 and Aaron Rodgers torched the defense for four touchdowns in Week 1. They were less than two minutes away from their first win last week, but the Buccaneers got down the field quickly and beat the Jets on a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Jets next five opponents all have losing records.  If his defense is going to start showing some signs of life, this is the week to do it.

This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Are these 5 New York Jets players on borrowed time?