Pro Bowl Quarterbacks

Edition #1012: With the need for a QB in New York, the Jets are being linked to three former Pro Bowlers, but do any of them make any sense?

Good Morning ☕

When you don’t have a franchise QB on the roster, the focus of the front office will always be drawn to how to solve that conundrum.

It’s very hard to win in the NFL if you don’t have a QB, just ask that lights out Houston Texans defense who watched from the sideline as CJ Stroud forgot how to play football. Or the LA Chargers when play-off Herbert replaces regular season Herbert.

Denver have a well rounded team, but without Bo Nix they’re not in the AFC Championship game, and with Stidham set to start on Sunday I fully expect the Drake Maye led Patriots to be heading to the big dance, as depressing as that is.

Right now the Jets have Justin Fields, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe on the roster. Which means that the focus of Darren Mougey and team is on how to bring someone in who can win some games.

We’ve already looked at some prospects in the draft and we’ll continue to work through those over the coming months, and we’ve touched on Mac Jones, Daniel Jones and Malik Willis too. Today we’re going to look at three other names that are being linked with the Jets this week. This one may not be for the weak stomach, so make sure you’ve had your breakfast before you carry on. Ye be warned.

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NEWS & NOTES

• Could Rex Ryan land on John Harbaugh’s staff? - “I know this might sound crazy, but don’t discount Rex Ryan being considered to be John Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator with [the] Giants. Rex was on Ravens staff and wanted HC job when Harbaugh was hired in 2008. Ryan worked for Harbaugh for one year before he was hired by the Jets. They also worked together with the Cincinnati Bearcats in 1996 when Rex was DC and Harbaugh was ST Coordinator. Ryan would be outstanding hire,” [Gary Myers]

• Mike McDaniel wasn’t out of work for long. The former Miami Dolphins head coach is joining Jim Harbaugh in LA as the Chargers OC.

• The Jets will face the Titans in Nashville next season, which means we’ll get to see just how much Robert Saleh has developed up close and personal.

• Could Breece Hall end up in Houston? “I’ve heard plenty of potential new homes for running back Breece Hall, but never Houston. Why not?, Joe Mixon’s career might be over after he missed the 2025 season because of a foot injury, and Marks looks more suited as a rotation player than lead back. The Texans need a strong running game to eat clock and complement their ferocious defense.” [Aaron Schatz, ESPN]

• The uncertainty around Aaron Glenn’s ability to turn the Jets around is putting off some potential DC candidates: “Other candidates the Jets looked into weren’t interested in the job. That’s what Glenn is up against as he attempts to rebuild his coaching staff, especially on the defensive side: This is not the most appealing opportunity. The biggest reason is the perception that Glenn could be on the hot seat with another bad season, and sought-after coordinators typically aren’t eager to take jobs if the head coach is a lame duck,” [Zack Rosenblatt]

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Pro Bowl QBs?

ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler is a guy I tend to pay attention to when I’m scrolling through the news in the evening.

Last night I came across an article of his linking the Jets to three different QBs and the headline stopped me in my tracks:

“Geno Smith, Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray are all made available -- for the Jets”

“This notion isn’t exactly bold -- all three quarterbacks appear to not be in the long-term plans of their current franchises. But they are each former Pro Bowlers and several teams have a glaring need at the position each year.

“Do the Jets get one of those three -- that’s really the question I have,” an AFC executive said. “They could go young and load up for the 2027 draft of quarterbacks, but the head coach [Aaron Glenn] probably needs to win, so he might need more of a reliable option.”

I don’t think a lot of people will be enamoured with the idea of any of those options, but are they realistic ones?

Tua Tagovailoa

Let’s start with our friend Tua down the road in Florida. The man who got benched in favour of rookie Quinn Ewers and is one hard hit away from retirement considering his numerous concussions. At some point Tua needs to think about his long-term health, and if he’s still playing past the age of 30 I’ll be amazed.

Then you come down to his contract…

He has nearly $80 million still guaranteed on that deal. When Tua signed that deal on the back of a 4,500+ yard season in 2023, there was real belief in Miami that they had finally found the answer at QB after searching for Dan Marino’s replacement since 2000. Unfortunately since then it’s been downhill, he put up just 2876 yards in 2024 having missed 6 games through injury, and his year he was benched after throwing 15 interceptions in 14 games. His yard per attempt fell from 8.3 in 2023 to 7.2 in 2024 and 6.9 in 2025. He’s always been capable of big downfield plays to Hill and Waddle, but the consistency has never been there.