Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n2025 Review<\/p>\n
The Jets took a calculated gamble last season at quarterback giving Fields a two-year, $40 million contract and $30 million guaranteed.\u00a0 Fields was a dual-threat quarterback the Jets have never had and his ability to keep plays alive using his legs was supposed to bring an exciting element the team hasn\u2019t had in quite some time.\u00a0 But, after a Week 1 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers where Fields was brilliant, it didn\u2019t take long for it to all fall apart.<\/p>\n
Fields had his moments of brilliance, but was brutal for most of the season until he was benched in favor of Taylor.\u00a0 He had the worst passing numbers of his career, often times looked petrified to throw the football and took way too many unnecessary sacks.\u00a0 He became a major liability and there were reports that players felt Taylor gave the team a better chance to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taylor stepped in for Fields and with him at quarterback, the offense showed signs of life with his ability to get the ball downfield.\u00a0 But, he suffered a knee injury early in the first quarter at home against Miami and that basically took the wind out of the team\u2019s sail the rest of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Glenn waved the white flag and opted to play Cook, an undrafted free agent that made the team out of training camp.\u00a0 Cook looked overmatched from the start and, while it wasn\u2019t entirely his fault as the team basically quit, it was still a disaster and very tough to watch each week.<\/p>\n
How Can The Jets Improve This Position?<\/p>\n
Free Agency<\/p>\n
The possibilities are endless as to who is available to help the Jets at the most important position on the field.\u00a0 But, that doesn\u2019t necessarily make them great options either.\u00a0 Daniel Jones is the top quarterback available in free agency, but he’s probably not going anywhere as the Indianapolis Colts placed the transition tag on him and can match any offer from any team.<\/p>\n
Things got interesting this week as the Arizona Cardinals released Kyler Murray and the Las Vegas Raiders announced they will part ways with Geno Smith when the new league year begins on Wednesday.\u00a0 While there have been questions about Murray\u2019s work ethic as well as his injury history, he\u2019s still only 28 years old and could benefit from a change of scenery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smith struggled in his only year with the Raiders, but it wasn\u2019t entirely his fault.\u00a0 He had one of the worst offensive lines in the league and lost his top receiving option, tight end Brock Bowers, for most of the year due to injury.\u00a0 Smith still threw 19 touchdowns but also had 17 interceptions.\u00a0 But let\u2019s not forget how good Smith was in Seattle where he threw for over 4,000 yards in two of his last three seasons with the Seahawks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other quarterback options include Marcus Mariota, Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz.\u00a0 If offensive coordinator Frank Reich has his way, Wentz could be a strong possibility.\u00a0 He had one of the best seasons of his career under Reich while in Indianapolis, throwing for 3,500 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2021.\u00a0 Wentz was with Minnesota last year and played through a dislocated shoulder as well as a torn labrum in a Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers before being shut down for the year.<\/p>\n
If the Jets prefer to go the trade route, Arizona\u2019s Jacoby Brissett, Philadelphia\u2019s Tanner McKee and Houston\u2019s Davis Mills are all possibilities.\u00a0 Brissett also played for Reich in Indianapolis and put up good numbers.\u00a0 McKee and Mills don\u2019t seem likely as options not because of their ability, but more because the asking price from the Eagles and Texans is reportedly very high.<\/p>\n
The 2026 Draft<\/p>\n
The Jets will probably select a quarterback in April\u2019s NFL draft, but none of the options available after the Raiders select Fernando Mendoza are ready to start in their rookie seasons.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been plenty of buzz surrounding Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson with the Jets potentially selecting him at #16.\u00a0 There will be other teams interested in Simpson and if they really want him, they will most likely have to select him in the first round. Other options include LSU\u2019s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State\u2019s Drew Allar and Miami\u2019s Carson Beck.<\/p>\n
Way Too Early 2026 Prediction<\/p>\n
It\u2019s really tough to make a prediction because there are so many different quarterbacks linked to the Jets and they’ve been pretty good at keeping their conversations internal. One thing we know for certain is Reich likes bigger quarterbacks which means a player like Murray is probably not an option.\u00a0 At the same time, Aaron Glenn needs to win this season if he wants to keep his job, Murray could be the best option available. We shouldn\u2019t forget the X-Factor in the decision-making process, owner Woody Johnson.\u00a0 \u00a0He may prefer the flashier name instead of a logical fit for the offense in an attempt to boost ticket sales.<\/p>\n
A quarterback like McKee or Mills may make the most sense.\u00a0 Both are on the younger side with McKee being 26 and Mills turning 28 in October.\u00a0 But, if they find success with either player this year, the need for a quarterback in next year\u2019s draft goes down and the Jets can focus on improving other areas of the team.\u00a0 While the sample size for each player is small, the numbers have still been impressive and both seem like better options than the other quarterbacks available. It ultimately depends on whether the Jets feel either is worthy of a Day 2 pick.<\/p>\n
Reports surrounding the direction the Jets are heading in are all over the place.\u00a0 Murray was rumored to be the favorite before he was released.\u00a0 Other reports say they’re looking into Miami\u2019s Tua Tagovailoa should he get released.\u00a0 SNY\u2019s Connor Hughes is reporting that Reich prefers Wentz to be his quarterback.\u00a0 Fans and Jets Media can speculate all they want, but there’s no way to know what direction they are headed.<\/p>\n
There will most likely be three new quarterbacks on the roster in 2026. Fields is almost certain to be released and designated as a post June 1st cut to spread the cap hit over two years. The team loves Taylor, but he’ll get offers from other teams or could retire due to injuries. Cook proved over the last five games of the season he’s not a competent option.<\/p>\n
Expect the Jets to add two veteran quarterbacks and a rookie with one of their many Day three picks. Some combination of Smith, Murray, Wentz and Mariota to go along with any of Nussmeier, Allar or Beck. Whether Glenn and Mougey care to admit it, this decision is the most important to the team’s success this season and for their futures with the organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 8, 2026, 7:45 a.m. ET The 2026 NFL offseason has officially begun and the New York Jets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[679,9,11,10,1673,1674,948,64783,20867,64782,1677,64781,35704,950,932,947,691,949,7433,682],"class_list":["post-156819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-accessfree","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-sstssportsnfljets","tag-sstsnjets","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagcarson-wentz","tag-tagdaniel-jones","tag-taggeno-smith","tag-tagjustin-fields","tag-tagkyler-murray","tag-tagmarcus-mariota","tag-tagnational-sports","tag-tagnfl","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagoverall-neutral","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagtyrod-taylor","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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