The New York Jets know from the 2023 season how important the position of backup quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers can be, and they reportedly have their eyes on multiple candidates this offseason.
According toΒ Zack RosenblattΒ of The Athletic, Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew and Ryan Tannehill are “potential targets” for the Jets. Rosenblatt also noted “Brissett made $8 million for the Commanders last year and it might cost more than that to reel in someone of his caliber in 2024 since so many teams saw the importance of having a solid No. 2 last year.”
One backup quarterback who likely won’t be coming back to New York is Zach Wilson.
Rosenblatt reported he is “on the chopping block” to the point the Jets may even attach a draft pick to him to complete a trade. Attaching that draft pick might make things more desirable for a team trading for him since it would also take on a $5.4 million cap hit.
Optimism was high for New York at the start of the 2023 campaign after bringing in Rodgers, but he suffered a torn Achilles in the first game.
Wilson, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle rotated through the quarterback spot after Rodgers’ injury, and the end result was a 7-10 record and third-place finish in the AFC East. Making it all the more difficult was the reality the Jets were probably solid quarterback play away from making a playoff run given the surrounding talent on the roster.
Tannehill, Brissett and Minshew likely would have been better suited to provide that than Wilson.
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Minshew filled in for the injured Anthony Richardson last season and nearly led the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs while completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Tannehill is a veteran with 151 career starts for the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans on his resume. He was a Pro Bowler in 2019 and helped lead the Titans to three straight playoff appearances from 2019 through 2021.
Brissett isn’t far removed from starting 11 games in 2022 for the Cleveland Browns. He has started 48 games throughout his career with 51 touchdown passes to 23 interceptions.
Any of those three options would likely provide better insurance behind Rodgers than the quarterbacks who played last season for the Jets.
