Jets reportedly interested in bringing back familiar QB in 2026

The New York Jets are expected to overhaul their quarterback room this offseason after one of the worst statistical passing seasons in franchise history. Widespread changes are understandably going to be made, but the team may have interest in retaining at least one member of their 2025 QB room.

NFL insider Tony Pauline reported last week that the Jets would like to bring back Tyrod Taylor in 2026 "in a similar role to the one he manned last season." Taylor started four games for the Jets this past season, serving the role of a competent veteran backup.

The Jets are expected to part ways with Justin Fields in the coming months, and it's safe to say fans have likely seen the last of Brady Cook as a viable quarterback option. Taylor at least gives the team some semblance of competency.

That said, it should be noted that Pauline’s track record with Jets-related reporting is spotty at best. Still, it’s at least believable that the team would have interest in retaining Taylor, which makes the scenario worth exploring.

Could the Jets really re-sign Tyrod Taylor?

Taylor was the best quarterback to play football for the Jets in 2025. Sure, the bar for that may have been historically low, but that doesn't make it any less true.

If there was ever a stat that perfectly captured the Jets’ passing incompetence in 2025, this is it. The Jets finished with a league-low 759 passing yards in the first half of games, a number so bleak that the next closest team — the Las Vegas Raiders — had 1,230.

That gap alone is staggering, but the historical context makes it even worse. That 759 total is the fewest first-half passing yards by any team in the NFL over the last 20 years, trailing even the infamous 2011 Tim Tebow–led Broncos, who managed 820.

With that in mind, one could argue it would be asinine to consider bringing back anyone who was part of that disheveled mess. But if there’s an argument to be made for any quarterback in that room, it’s Taylor.

Taylor went 1–3 in his four starts, finishing with five touchdowns, five interceptions, 779 passing yards, and a 60 percent completion rate. He’s a perfectly acceptable backup option — the issue with him has always been durability.

Taylor has played double-digit games in a season just once since the start of the 2018 campaign. Some of that is due to his role as a backup, but as Jets fans have learned the hard way, the injury bug has followed Taylor throughout his career.

The Jets’ options in free agency and on the trade market are bleak, but the team is still expected to bring in a veteran this offseason. Perhaps that’s a high-profile swing for someone like Kyler Murray or Geno Smith, or maybe it’s a move for a more middling, fringe backup such as Marcus Mariota.

The team could also double-dip at the position and target a quarterback at some point within the first four rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft. If they go that route, Taylor’s presence may no longer be necessary.

There’s a world in which it makes sense for the Jets to bring back Taylor as a veteran mentor, but given the likelihood that the team makes multiple additions at the position this offseason, it probably makes more sense to let him walk and pursue other, more reliable, higher-upside options.