Alan Faneca retired this week. He has a great chance of eventually going to Canton as a Hall of Famer. He surely will not go in as a Jet, but his two years with the team left a lasting impression. He helped solidify an offensive line that was in shambles when he arrived and helped D'Brickashaw Ferguson reach his potential playing next to him.
The Jets have had a handful of people come to them recently for short stints who left less of a lasting impression. Many of them are either Hall of Famers or surely will be future Hall of Famers.
Ronnie Lott: The Hall of Fame safety spent the final two years of his career in green and white in 1993 and 1994. The team collapsed down the stretch both years, but Lott was actually pretty productive. He had over 100 tackles both years, forced 6 fumbles, recovered 3, and had 3 interceptions.
Art Monk: Monk retired as the NFL's career leader in receptions. He wrote his resume to Canton with the Redskins from 1980 to 1993. He came to the Jets in 1994, when he had 46 catches for 581 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also set the record for most consecutive games with at least one reception with the Jets. The record has since been broken by Jerry Rice. Monk moved on to the Eagles for his final year in 1995.
Brett Favre: The Jets landed his Favreness in an August 2008 trade with Green Bay. The Packers wanted to unload him after the media circus following his unretirement. His one year with the Jets was a roller coaster. He got off to a slow start. He got red hot near the middle of the year, capped by consecutive road wins at New England and then undefeated Tennessee to put the Jets at 8-3 and Super Bowl favorites. Banged up down the stretch, Favre played miserably and was a big part of the collapse that led the team to miss the Playoffs and cost Eric Mangini his job.
Bill Belichick: Belichick was Jets defensive coordinator for three years. He did a fantastic job. Although the Jets lost, John Elway didn't know what hit him in the 1998 AFC Championship Game. Elway was 13 for 34 that day. Once Bill Parcells retired, Belichick was in line to become head coach. However, he resigned after one day on the job at his introductory press conference by writing, "I resign as HC of NYJ," on a piece of paper. He ended up later going to New England, where he had impressed owner Robert Kraft during a brief stint as an assistant under Parcells. He won three Super Bowls, went to a fourth, and has tormented the Jets since (at least until 2010).