NFL insider links Jets to familiar QB target with ties to potential OC hire

The No. 1 priority for the New York Jets this offseason will be finding a new quarterback for the 2026 season.

General manager Darren Mougey vowed to "exhaust every option" at his end-of-season press conference, and that's exactly what New York will do this offseason. They'll examine every option in the upcoming draft, free agent quarterbacks, and even potential trade targets across the league.

First things first, though, they need a new offensive coordinator. Frank Reich, Darrell Bevell, and Greg Roman are all under consideration for the position, and even if two of the prospective candidates don't get the OC role, they could wind up joining the staff anyway in a perfect world.

Thanks to these three experienced assistant coaches, could some quarterbacks wish to work with their former coaches? NFL insider Josina Anderson seems to think so, and tabbed a specific trigger man who may want to work with Bevell again at his next destination.

Josina Anderson names Tua Tagovailoa as a Jets QB option thanks to Darrell Bevell

Anderson, when discussing the possibility of the Miami Dolphins' new brain trust moving on from Tua Tagovailoa, linked the former Pro Bowl quarterback to the Jets thanks to his connection with prospective offensive coordinator and his former quarterbacks coach, Bevell.

"If the Jets end up with Darrell Bevell at OC, it'd be interesting to see if those two reconnect in Florham Park," Anderson wrote on X.

Even if the Jets don't end up with Bevell as their offensive coordinator, he could still be brought on board in the same role he filled on Mike McDaniel's offensive staff as the quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator. A Tagovailoa pairing would still make sense there.

Now, most Jets fans would likely be hesitant about the prospect of adding Tagovailoa. He's coming off a season where he was benched for a seventh-round rookie, and his bloated contract still has almost three years and $152 million guaranteed money left on it.

But for the Dolphins to move off that deal, they would likely have to pay a significant portion of it to get the contract off their books, opening the door for a Brock Osweiler-type trade that sees Miami attaching a pick to Tagovailoa to rid themselves of the deal.

If the Jets could get the former No. 5 overall pick on the cheap? That wouldn't be a horrible stopgap option in a year where quarterbacks are slim pickings.

And who knows? Maybe Tagovailoa could pull off the same kind of magic former Jets quarterback Chad Pennington did for the Dolphins back in 2008.

After trading for Brett Favre ahead of the '08 season, New York cut ties with their longtime starter, Pennington, allowing him to sign with the Dolphins. He would go on to have a career year, leading Miami to an AFC East title, winning Comeback Player of the Year, and finishing second in MVP voting.

I'm not saying history will definitely repeat itself, but the Jets could do much worse as they head into an offseason without a clear-cut plan at quarterback.