Everything about the second half of this Jets season pointed to the team entering the 2023 quarterback market. Their owner all but confirmed it Thursday.
Woody Johnson said the Jets will be prepared to spend for a veteran quarterback. The team has not gone in this direction in a while, but its past two top-five draft choices — Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson — have not panned out. Wilson’s struggles ended up holding back a vastly improved defense, something Johnson obviously does not want to recur.
“Absolutely,” Johnson said (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) when asked he was willing to spend for a veteran. “We’ve got a cap, so there’s an amount you can spend. But, yeah, yeah. That’s kind of the missing piece.”
Robert Saleh added the Jets will be “aggressive as heck” regarding the quarterback position. A veteran pursuit will mark a change of pace for the organization.
Not only have the Jets devoted their QB investments to rookies over the past five years, they had low- or midlevel QB contracts — Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick — on the payroll in the years before Darnold’s arrival. The organization which tried Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith throughout the first half of the 2010s last made a major veteran investment back in 2008, when it traded for Brett Favre. As such, the Jets appearing serious about trying to pair their reloaded defense with a readier QB would qualify as a significant development.
Wilson’s disastrous start to his career led to a second-season benching — almost unheard of for a modern top-five QB pick — and Johnson said the team likely erred by not bringing in a veteran last year to ease the BYU prospect’s transition. Since-departed OC Mike LaFleur said the same recently.
“Zach had a tough year. There’s no denying that,” Johnson said. “I still have confidence that I’ve seen some kernels of real talent there. …[His] confidence level, whatever it was, went down, so that was certainly frustrating for him. And then we had that rotation, which is very hard to do in the NFL — changing quarterbacks.”
The Jets attempting to fix their Wilson mistake with a veteran move has seemed likely for weeks, since the team demoted the former No. 2 overall selection to the third-string level. LaFleur’s exit clouds a potential Jimmy Garoppolo signing. Previously, a LaFleur-Garoppolo reunion made some sense; the ex-49ers duo reuniting would have allowed for a smooth transition. But other QBs will be available.
New York has the option of trading for Derek Carr in February; Las Vegas is prepared to shop him. Otherwise, Smith has been connected to staying with the Seahawks. The Giants now want to re-sign Daniel Jones. Gang Green’s weaponry and defense could conceivably attract Tom Brady, though it is not yet certain if he will play an age-46 season, and Aaron Rodgers‘ Green Bay future is once again murky. The Raiders, who are also connected to Garoppolo, are seemingly set to be a Brady suitor — if the all-time great wishes to play in 2023. The Ravens will not let Lamar Jackson hit the market. The former MVP hitting the trade block after two offseasons of failed negotiations would certainly test Johnson’s pledge to pay up for a QB.
Johnson was serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom when the Jets hired Saleh and GM Joe Douglas. Despite inheriting the two, Johnson said Thursday he would not require a 2023 playoff berth for Saleh and Douglas to stay. However, he also did not confirm the duo would be safe with another postseason absence. The Jets’ 12-season playoff drought is by far the NFL’s longest active streak.
“No, I don’t do mandates,” Johnson said. “We’ve had a long wait. Fifty-four years from the last Super Bowl is too long, way too long. I’d like to change that fast, but mandates don’t work.”
Saleh said LaFleur had other options, but it is interesting the Jets will allow their two-year OC to explore them rather than ensure he came back. This certainly points to a firing. Johnson said (via the New York Post’s Brian Costello, on Twitter) he was not part of the decision that led LaFleur out, though he also noted he had private conversations with Douglas, Saleh and LaFleur and offered input. The team is now shopping for a new OC.
If the Jets sign Greg Olson as their OC, that would be a good hint that they’re serious about acquiring Derek Carr.
Heh heh heh…”Woody”.
Rick Erection on line 1
Beyond crappy QB and OL play, what was the reason for firing their OC?
The fact that his own players were calling out the predictability of the offense?
Average players always point fingers somewhere else.
I personally wouldn’t call Garrett Wilson an average player but maybe that’s just me
Johnson and Johnson was caught knowingly selling baby powder with asbestos in it.
The Jets being a perennial joke is just a small fraction of the karma Woody Johnson should face.
idiot
Knowingly poisoning people with asbestos is dumb, yes.
Just get Aaron Rodgers
Arron Roger’s?? Are you nuts? That will be a Bret Farve mistake all over again. Stay away from him. He does not have that desire to play anymore just like Farve.
AR is after game checks now.
Not to mention his complete lack of accountability. He might be the only quarterback in the league I wouldn’t want anywhere near Zach
The accountability thing with Rodgers is overblown. Just cause he doesn’t say the generic I lost us the game bs people want qbs to say doesn’t mean he throws everyone under the bus.
Historically bad teams continue to pay premiums to stay bad.
There are no premium veteran QBs available so they’ll save a few bucks pursuing guys like Dalton, Trubisky or Rudolph.
Or, Gardner Minshew, or Marcus Mariota, or Matt Ryan…
Jets could outbid Ravens for Lamar; but that would be pointless w/out an OC who knows how to maximize a trio of Lamar, Breece, & Garrett
MIKE WHITE!
There is no veteran QB coming on the market who is worth his salary cap to a new team. Carr is a losing proposition (perhaps a .500 proposition) at average $40 million cap per year but he would do the least damage for the most reasonable amount of money.
The Jets will blow it again. They should instead invest in their offensive line and have another go at it with Mike White.
Mike White is not the answer
If Nathaniel Hackett is hired as the OC, a trade for Rodgers will be worked out. Rodgers loves Hackett
What’s not being reported is the Jets also fired their offensive line coach John Benton (a Mike LaFleur crony BTW). Benton is taking the fall for the injury-hit OL that contributed to the Jets’ bottom-tier offense.