NY Jets ‘remain involved’ with QB Joe Flacco in free agency

The NY Jets have an important decision to make at the quarterback position this offseason. And that important decision is strictly related to whether or not the team decides to bring back Joe Flacco.

No other decision exists. That is the only important one.

Facetiousness aside, the Jets will need to identify a backup for whoever they plan their starting quarterback to be in 2021. And they appear to have interest in re-signing Flacco.

The veteran signal-caller has met with both the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles in recent days, but the Jets aren’t out of the picture just yet.

As reported by ESPN’s Rich Cimini on Monday, the Jets “remain involved” with Flacco despite interest from other teams.

Could the NY Jets re-sign Joe Flacco this offseason?

Flacco was signed last offseason to serve as both a mentor and insurance for starting quarterback Sam Darnold. But few could have expected that he would be the best QB to take snaps under center for the team in 2020.

The 13-year NFL veteran started four games in place of Darnold who was sidelined with a shoulder injury. And while he hardly lit the world on fire, he did outperform the supposed starter.

Flacco finished with six touchdowns and three interceptions while throwing for 864 yards and completing 55 percent of his passes. Again, his numbers weren’t exactly stellar, but compared to Darnold, he did look like the better quarterback.

It’s clear at this stage that Flacco is nothing more than veteran insurance for a team. But he proved in 2020 that he’s still a capable NFL quarterback who could start in a pinch.

And if the Jets are planning to sign a veteran backup in free agency, their options are dwindling.

Veterans such as Chase Daniel, A.J. McCarron, and Colt McCoy remain available. The Jets could always go the familiarity route by targeting either Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard — two players with experience in a Mike LaFleur-style offense.

The Jets still have options, but Flacco has at least a familiarity with the roster and has proven to be a capable veteran backup.

It remains to be seen how hard the Jets will push for Flacco, especially given that they did just draft James Morgan in the fourth round of last year’s draft.

But at the very least, they are still interested.