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In so many ways, the Jets’ QB position was handled rather poorly in 2025.
It’s hard to find many positive aspects in their handling of the position, aside from keeping Tyrod Taylor, who was still under contract before the arrival of the new regime.
But in some regards, this player wasn’t handled well either.
First of all, the fact that he wasn’t allowed to compete for the starting job in the spring and summer, with Justin Fields being named the starter in March, seemed somewhat misguided.
Taylor’s record was around .500 entering last off-season, and Fields was 14-30, so why not at least a competition, and let the best man win?
This idea that committing to Fields early and letting him know he was “the man” would somehow make it play better is a philosophy with some holes.
If a QB had issues in college, and then in his first four years in the NFL, going through progressions and being a full-field reader, why would naming him the starter early change that?
As Bill Parcells liked to say, “When a player shows you who he is, believe him.”
Fields is most comfortable using a one-read and run style.
So naming him the starter in March, really didn’t make him a better processor of opposing defenses.
Also, the money they paid him was profligate – a two-year deal for $40 million with $30 million guaranteed. A deal like Mac Jones got from San Francisco would have made more sense – 2 years, $8.2 million.
Then keeping Brady Cook as the #3 over Adrian Martinez didn’t make a ton of sense either.
Martinez, who graduated from Kansas State in 2022, has been bouncing around pro football the last three years, so for two years, when he was in camp with the Jets this summer, competing with Cook.
Not saying that the UFL is anywhere near the NFL level, but Martinez was the MVP of that pro league in 2024 with the Birmingham Stallions.
He showed in the last two preseasons, with the Jets, he’s more advanced than Cook.
Cook is an impressive young man, and will do well in whatever he chooses to do after football (Two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year), but he wasn’t ready to be in the #3 spot this season.
Now, if you wanted to keep four QBs, two on the practice squad, and Cook is your fourth in a red-shirt year, that is fine, but the first guy called up due to injuries would be the other guy, Martinez, or somebody else, not a raw UDFA who needs a ton of work.
For instance, with Bo Nix hurting his ankle in the divisional round, ending his season, Denver will start Jarrett Stidham as their QB in the AFC Championship game against New England.
So now the #3 in Denver is the #2. Do you know who that is? It’s former Texas QB Sam Ehlinger, who has been bouncing around the NFL since 2021.
That is what a #3 looks like – somebody who has a little more seasoning than a long-shot undrafted UDFA.
Look, I’m not saying anything that the power-that-be don’t know.
They didn’t handle the QB position very well in 2025, and the proof is in the pudding.
So they need to do a deep dive on their 2025 QB process before diving into fixing it in 2026.
I asked Darren Mougey at the season-ending presser the following question, and it might have been the first time he was asked this:
Dan Leberfeld, Jets Confidential: As far as quarterback, what was the thinking in signing Justin Fields and anointing him the starter, giving him two years, $40 million when he had a 14-30 record as a starter entering the offseason?
Mougey: Yeah, I think that’s a good question. I understand the question. We had a clear vision for Justin and a good plan. Now obviously, the season didn’t go as planned and that’s for many reasons. There’s not one person, player, coach, system of why we ended winning three games, but that’s part of this week’s process, it’s us diving in and really reflecting on the season and the lessons learned moving forward.
That last line is significant about him and the football side, “diving in and really reflecting on the season and the lessons learned moving forward.”
I’m not going to totally blame Mougey for the Jets’ poor 2025 QB plan, because I’m not sure he has final say, but we all know, and he knows, they must take the “lessons learned moving forward” to not repeat anything like their 2025 QB plan, in a QB-driven league.
January 23, 2026
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