Now that the Jets season is over, all eyes are on the team’s pending offseason — particularly what they’ll do about their dilapidated quarterback situation.
Gang Green headed into the year believing that former second-overall pick Zach Wilson would be their long-term answer for the position, but the 23-year-old failed to show any real improvement in his sophomore season, and was relegated to the bench after starting just seven games.
After missing the first three contests with a leg injury, Wilson took over as the starter under center in Week 4.
The team managed to record an admirable 5–2 record over the next seven games, but that was largely in spite of Wilson’s lackluster play.
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After a horrendous performance in Week 11, which saw Wilson complete just nine passes on 22 attempts (40.1%), during the team’s embarrassing 10–3 loss to the New England Patriots, head coach Robert Saleh relegated the young quarterback to the bench.
Through those seven games, Wilson recorded a 55.56% compilation rate, while throwing for 182.7 yards per game. He tossed just four touchdowns, and racked up five interceptions.
His benching ushered in the emergence of Mike White under center for Gang Green, which temporarily added a notable spark to the team’s flailing offense.
White, who worked his way up from the team’s practice squad, took over as the team’s starting signal caller for three games before suffering a rib injury that knocked him out for two weeks. He would later return in Week 17.
In the four games he played, White temporarily electrified the offensive roster that had been frustrated by Wilson’s lackluster play, but the bright lights quickly dimmed.
After an impressive first game that saw White throw 22 completions on 28 attempts, along with three touchdowns, his play trailed off significantly in his next three games.
In his final trio of contests, White averaged a 55.1% completion rate, while failing to throw a single touchdown pass. He also had four interceptions through that three-game span.
Despite the initial hope that White could provide a long-term solution to the team’s quarterback woes, Jets management likely isn’t considering White as the answer to their long-running problems at quarterback.
With Wilson and White both failing to establish themselves as franchise quarterbacks, and the only other signal caller on the active roster being Joe Flacco, the aging 37-year-old workhorse, it appears that the quarterback of the future for the Jets is not currently on the roster.
Luckily for the Jets, though, as they head into the offseason, they will have many options to bring in a new quarterback.
New York will have the 13th overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft (and could potentially trade up), giving them the option to draft a signal caller coming out of college.
Alabama’s Bryce Young will likely be the first quarterback off the board, and barring a trade, will be gone before the Jets pick. Other options include C.J. Stroud from Ohio State, Anthony Richardson of Florida, and Will Levis of Kentucky.
While those are all enticing options for Gang Green, the franchise has a porous track record when it comes to developing young quarterbacks.
That may motivate them to look towards the free agent market, or potentially make a trade for a veteran.
The two biggest names possibly looking for a new home this offseason are Tom Brady (who will be a free agent) and Aaron Rodgers (who’s relationship with the Packers is extremely rocky). Getting either one of those future Hall-of-Famers would be a major coup for the Jets — though it would take a huge hall of trade compensation, and a willingness from either quarterback to sign-on with the Jets and their porous reputation.
Perhaps more likely, the Jets could target Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who was benched at the end of the season, and appears to be on the outs with the Las Vegas franchise.
Another possibility would be Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers. The one-time Super Bowl participant finds himself on the roster along with Trey Lance, who San Francisco invested the third-overall pick in during the 2021 NFL Draft. With the 49ers likely turning the keys over to Lance, Garoppolo may be in search of a new home — and would be an immediate upgrade over the team’s current options.
The pending offseason is sure to be an exciting one for football fans, and the Jets are going to need to capitalize on the coming movement of quarterbacks if they want to rebound from their recent history of mediocrity to make a playoff run next season.
Thankfully, they’ll have many options.