Content available exclusively for subscribers
The Jets are coming off a season in which you could make a strong argument that they didn’t handle their QB situation in an ideal way.
They need to learn from this experience and handle things a lot better.
As philosopher George Santayana once said. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
The only thing about the Jets’ 2025 QB plan that made a modicum of sense was having Tyrod Taylor in the mix, but remember, he was under contract, after signing a two-year deal in 2024 for very good backup QB money. The Jets outbid some other teams for his services.
So, to a degree, this wasn’t a decision of the current regime. Yes, they decided to keep him, but he was already under contract, and they needed a backup, and he’s considered a very good #2.
And they made it clear very early Taylor would not be allowed to compete for the starting QB job with Justin Fields.
On March 30, Jets GM Darren Mougey announced Fields would be the team’s starting quarterback with no competition.
If signing Fields to a profligate two-year deal for $40 million with $30 million guaranteed wasn’t bad enough, he was handed the starting job with no competition, even though he was entering last season with a 14-30 record as a starter.
Two dubious moves.
Look, if you wanted to sign Fields to a one-year deal for like $5 million, kick the tires on him, let him compete for the job – fine.
But to overpay to that degree, and anoint him the starter right out of the gate, that was a double whammy.
Not sure what the thinking was there, just like going with Brady Cook over the more experienced Adrian Martinez for the #3 role, a #3 role which ended up being in play last season
Cook is an amazing kid. He really is. Class act. Great character. Smart as hell. But was not ready to even be in the #3 hole this year. He had accuracy issues at Missouri, and they continued with the Jets.
Look, if you want to sign him and try to fix his accuracy, and red-shirt him on the practice squad, fine, but no way he should have been two benchings/injuries away from the field as a rookie.
And let’s not even get into showing Aaron Rodgers the door. We’ve been over that enough.
The point here is simple – the Jets have a lot of huge decisions to make this off-season, with none more important than who their QB should be.
They have to do some self-scouting on what went wrong with their QB evaluations process last year, so it goes a lot better this year.
And Darren Mougey should be spearheading this effort. He went to San Diego State as a QB before switching to WR. He has a great feel for the position.
I can’t sit here and blame him for the Fields stuff, because I wasn’t in the room for that decision-making, but you don’t need to be a Jets insider to realize Aaron Glenn is the man in the football operation with the most power.
And Glenn, when he was the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, competed against Fields for three years, when the signal-caller was with the Chicago Bears.
So it’s not unfair to assume that Glenn was a driving force in the Jets’ signing Fields and making him the starter. If I’m wrong about that, I will print a retraction, but being around the team, and reading the tea leaves, that is what my gut tells me.
What would I do at QB?
I would bring back Taylor, draft Ty Simpson at 16, and start Taylor until Simpson is ready.
But reading this nonsense that the Jets should get Kyler Murray or Malik Willis – spare me with that. Both terrible ideas. I will get into why on Wednesday.
February 10, 2025
Premium will return by 9:30 pm (or sooner) on Wednesday.
