Jets QB Outlook: Top Veteran Options If New York Drafts a Quarterback in 2026

Jets fans are already looking ahead to 2026, and the big Jets QB question is what veteran quarterback makes the most sense if the team drafts a rookie. The idea of Justin Fields sticking around as a bridge has officially sailed. Below is a featured discussion straight from the JetNation forums, where fans break down the realistic options, the longshots, and the downright depressing names who might still give the Jets half a season of competence.

Justin Fields quite clearly has to be out. For this one time, I’m encouraged that Woody thinks he sucks enough that he overrules Mougey/Glenn even on the off-chance they were open to bringing him back.

The initial idea (outside of hoping that Fields suddenly clicked and suddenly got better a la Geno) was to tread water for a year with Fields, with him being enough of a name, they wouldn’t immediately get accused of tanking the whole year. Then, in 2026, they wouldn’t have to force a rookie onto the field right away next year, and then yield to a 2025 rookie sometime during the season.

That’s a sound plan on paper if Fields weren’t unusably bad, but he is just that bad: he is absolutely unusable. There’s a rationale behind inking a guy who’s still a smart player even though his skill is now greatly diminished if not gone (which was also the idea behind the prior acquisitions from Brunell to McCown to Flacco), but this isn’t that case. The last veteran the next rookie QB needs to learn under is a guy who’s got plenty of physical talent &  is still in his physical prime, but even after 5 years starting in the league, still has no game-smarts guiding him.

They’re going to have to bring a different veteran in here who can credibly start half a season, and while I hope not, they may have to trade a mid-rounder for that opportunity. I don’t like any of these names either, but this list consists of those who won’t otherwise be looking at starting jobs in 2026, and have demonstrated in the last few years that they’re at least somewhat capable of reading a defense and throwing a football:

• Flacco (will be 41 and the Jets have already let him go twice in the last 5 years)
• Mac Jones (ew, and we would need to trade for him)
• Brissett (would need to trade for him)
• Minshew (his 15 min is over, but possibly being in KC for a year begets a minor bounce-back)
• Mariota (yecch)
• RWilson (quite clearly can’t play anymore; upside is one potentially decent game/half and is otherwise useless)
• Cousins (Atl probably cuts him, but he looks shot himself)
• Garoppolo (could arguably have the most upside as a half-year bridge with a bounce-back; it’s 3 years since he last looked good on the field & 2 years since he last saw any regular action, but on top of that is a shot in the dark that he can not only still start but would last more than the first month. Plus he’s still pretty handsome, lol).
• (doubt Derek Carr is coming out of retirement and may never have gotten the shoulder surgery he’d needed before a year-long post-surgical rehab)

It’s neither an inspiring nor even a slightly encouraging list (that’s for sure), but then available/FA QBs rarely seem so at the time. The Colts announcing they were going with Daniel Jones seemed like a joke and the Colts are the league’s #1 offense entering week 11.

Anyone else obvious whom I’m missing? So who’s the best of a depressing list?

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