Could the Jets See a Different Quarterback Start Besides Justin Fields This Season?
The Jets brought in Aaron Rodgers a few years ago, thinking they had their quarterback situation solved. However, ever since then, everything for the organization has gone downhill. In the first year of Aaron Rodgers, he went down with a season-ending injury in the first game, and then in his second year, he led the Jets to a horrendous 5-12 record. Despite this team being filled with exceptional young talent on both sides of the ball, they still couldn’t be successful last season to any degree. Therefore, the Jets made the smart decision to move on from Rodgers, and now someone new will be starting the Jets moving forward into next season.
In free agency, the Jets did sign Justin Fields, the former Steeler, to a two-year $40 million contract. Field’s youth and mobility should be able to open up this offense and improve this offense’s efficiency from a year ago. Although Fields has shown glimpses of potential throughout his NFL career, he hasn’t proven to be a long-term option for a franchise yet. If Fields flames out in New York, then the Jets could quickly pivot to another quarterback. So, who is this other quarterback who could start this season for the Jets?
Last year, the Jets drafted a quarterback in the second round from Florida State named Jordan Travis, who was expected to be the heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers after a few years. However, with Rodgers quickly flaming out, the Jets had to bring in another quarterback to give Travis time to develop. If you are unfamiliar with Jordan Travis, he was the quarterback who led Florida State to their 13-0 record back in 2023. However, he ended up getting injured, and this resulted in FSU not advancing to the College Football Playoffs despite being undefeated. During his last year at FSU, he had over 2,900 total yards, 27 total touchdowns, and only threw two interceptions. He would end up finishing fifth in the Heisman odds behind Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr, Bo Nix, and Marvin Harrison Jr. However, he would be largely neglected in the draft last year because of the ACL injury he suffered at the end of the 2023 season. With Jordan Travis likely returning soon, the Jets could turn to him if the Justin Fields experiment doesn’t work out.
