NY Jets rumors: A former Super Bowl MVP as a backup QB?

Well, if we hadn't seen it for ourselves, we probably wouldn't have believed it, but it absolutely happened. Three years after losing their way into the third overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, the NY Jets decided that Sam Darnold was no longer their guy.

What did they do? They wrapped him up, put a bow on him, and shipped him out of the AFC. He's now presumably the next starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers.

There isn't a Jets fan in the greater New York area or anywhere else on Planet Earth that doesn't know what happened next. Gang Green, back at the top of the draft order again, selected another quarterback.

This time, it was Zach Wilson out of Brigham Young University.

Debate continues among NY Jets fans

You can argue among yourselves about why it happened. Maybe the Jets were of the impression that Darnold wasn't becoming what they envisioned.

Maybe it was one of those things where a new head coach (Robert Saleh) and his regime believed that they would rather have 'their guy.' Maybe it was both of those things. Still, regardless of what side you sit on with all of that, here's something that we can all agree on.

Wilson needs a backup, preferably a veteran, and one of the NFL's most trusted voices believes that he has an answer. Why not bring in a former Super Bowl MVP?

Peter King has an idea the NY Jets could explore

In his most recent Football Morning in America drop, the legend, Peter King, offered the following theory. Here's a spoiler. Some of you won't like it. Heck, some of The Jet Press staff doesn't like it.

He believes the answer to the Jets' backup quarterback dilemma is Nick Foles. Take a look at what he had to say.

"The Jets need to get Nick Foles on the team. He’d be the perfect welcome-to-the-NFL-backup for Zach Wilson. I understand why the Jets jettisoned Sam Darnold; it’d have been Zoo York with him in camp this summer, as nice a guy as he is. But if I’m GM Joe Douglas, I’m figuring a way to pry Foles from the Bears after June 1. Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the Bears could dump their third quarterback and take hits of $2.667 million in 2021 and ’22, and the Jets could have Foles for $4 million this year and in the area of $5 million next year. Makes sense for both teams. And isn’t it a coincidence that New York hasn’t signed a vet backup/hand-holder for Wilson yet? I like Wilson and thought he was a good pick for the Jets, but throwing a rookie in front of Bill Belichick, Sean McDermott, and Brian Flores six times this year is fraught with problems anyway."

- Peter King

No, how about we pass? Despite being the author of one of the greatest performances in Super Bowl history, Foles has never found any long-term success anywhere besides in Philadelphia with the Eagles.

In 46 career games as a member of the Birds (that includes 38 starts and six postseason games), he's thrown for 10,336 yards while tossing 69 touchdowns versus 28 interceptions.

He's spent one year apiece with what was then the St. Louis Rams, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Chicago Bears. The result? In total, he's thrown for 5,050 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 20 picks over the course of 27 games.

Again we'll pass.

Okay NY Jets fans, here's one more for the road

Oh, and just in case you haven't been told, get a load of this. The Jets travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to meet Darnold and the Panthers in Week 1. That probably won't be given any Game of the Week designation, but it's definitely worth making a mental note of.

Expect Darnold to follow the typical NFL model and say that game will be just like every other game that he plays during the 2021-2022 season.

Here's a spoiler. It won't be.