Quarterbacks, quarterbacks. GM Darren Mougey, HC Aaron Glenn and the Jets are exhausting all their options at the position in the market to repopulate their QBs room, and the draft will provide them an opportunity to add a candidate.
But what about free agency? The legal negotiating period begins Monday, March 9, and the free agency signing period kicks off two days later. A number of bridge starters/backups will be testing the waters, looking not only for decent money but a new chance to show they’re still made of NFL starting timber, and some other QBs may be available in trade.
Who might the Jets want? Here’s a short list of candidates they may be studying this week. (Our free agency review of non-QB offensive payers will be posted Thursday.
Malik Willis — Willis’ track record is spare, with six starts and three wins in four seasons as a backup, the first two with Tennessee, the last two with Green Bay. But he’s productive (98.9 career passer rating), mobile (5.5 yards/carry) and will try to parlay his potential into a prodigious payday. The Jets will inquire, but will they be interested in paying a similar contract to Willis as they did for Justin Fields, with Willis having far less experience as a fifth-year QB than Fields did a year ago?
Jimmy Garoppolo — Jimmy G was San Fran’s Super Bowl QB after the 2019 season, then helped the 49ers to the NFC title game two years later. Next, he moved to the Raiders and the Rams, backing up Matt Stafford but starting only one game, in 2024, and throwing no passes in ’25. His 43-21 record and 97.6 rating as an NFL starter may be irrelevant now as he starts his 13th NFL season, and it’s hard to say how good a young-QB mentor he’d be. But the Illinoisan through his college years may want a chance to at least compete for more playtime and break out of his West Coast mode back East, where he began his career as New England’s second-round pick in ’14.
Marcus Mariota — Mariota started out strong with Tennessee before hitting the road for short stints with several other teams — Las Vegas, Atlanta, Philadelphia and, for the past two seasons, mentoring Jayden Daniels with Washington. He started his one season with the Falcons and filled in for eight games for the injured Daniels last season, but otherwise over the past six seasons has been a backup. Does he still have what it takes to intrigue Glenn, new OC Frank Reich and new QBs coach Bill Musgrave?
Tyrod Taylor — The Jets backup the past two seasons can become a free agent but he has said he is open to a return to the Green & White. The Jets respect Taylor’s professionalism, but are they interested in a 16th-year QB who turns 37 in August and has struggled with recent injuries? Taylor’s passing line as a Jet is fair (62.2% accuracy, 8 TDs, 5 INTs, 81.6 rating). And for what it’s worth, his Jets career TD drive rate of 21.5% is fifth-best for all Jets QBs with at least 40 drives while the team TO drive rate with Taylor at QB is 15.1%, second behind only Babe Parilli’s 13.8 in 1968-69.