New York Jets: Is the quarterback plan hidden or non-existent?

Do the New York Jets have a plan at quarterback or not?

The New York Jets came into this offseason with a prime opportunity to fix the quarterback position. There was the best free agent available in years and there is a huge rookie class at the position that is talented. The Jets have a lot of money to spend and lots of draft picks. If there was ever a year that this problem would finally be solved it would be this year.

But in order to fix a problem there needs to be a plan. This is valid for any possible problem, without a plan to a solution you are stuck. Going haphazardly never works. There has to be a plan. The question, after watching the action over the last few days, is what the Jets plan is. Do they even have a plan? Honestly, it’s getting hard to tell.

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Once the Kirk Cousins bell landed in Minnesota, they seemed to quickly run back to their safe place, Josh McCown. Now, he did play well last year, there is no doubt. But he is not likely to replicate that performance.

It’s also safe. He played well but his limitations are obvious. Yet the Jets seemed to make no overtures towards any other quarterbacks besides Cousins. Mike Maccagnan seemed hesitant to take any chances, instead opting for the player he is familiar with.

We also have Teddy Bridgewater in town. Yes, it’s not a big investment. The deal is only worth $5 million in base salary. They didn’t commit the world to him. I’ll say again that it is low risk and high reward. That isn’t the point, though.

The point is that this too, is safe. Low risk is a nicer term for “safe”. Sure, Bridgewater can come in, likely backup McCown if he’s healthy enough, maybe even start. If not, they can move on. But it’s still not taking a chance. When are they finally going to move forward with a concrete plan to fix this position for the future?

Now, it’s understood that none of these moves preclude the Jets from getting a top quarterback in this draft. They can trade up if they want or remain at six if they truly believe in Josh Allen *sigh*. The opportunity is still there. However, has this group given the indication, even once, that they will aggressively go after a quarterback? This regime has yielded Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg. Is there anything left to say? It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Next: Jets free agency tracker

Now, Maccagnan has been to see Josh Rosen as well as Baker Mayfield. However that doesn’t really tell us much at all. He has been to see big name quarterbacks in the past, and after all, he is a scout. It’s what he does. It doesn’t mean he intends on picking one of these guys. He could be doing his due diligence.

We can hope that this year is going to be different. It still can be. But can we really be confident that it will be? They had better have a plan in place or they won’t be in New York very much longer.

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