With the season hopelessly out of reach, and the Jets refusing to turn to their young quarterbacks, it looks like New York may seek a veteran quarterback to steer the ship in 2017. And one name that seems to be on their radar is Tampa Bay’s soon-to-be free agent quarterback Mike Glennon.
According to ESPN ‘s Rich Cimini, Glennon could find himself with more than just the Jets as a suitor, however.
“This offseason, he will become an unrestricted free agent. One rival scout told me he could be this year’s Brock Osweiler — a young quarterback with upside whose limitations will be overlooked because of the supply and demand at the position. Translation: A desperate team will overpay for him.”
Glennon showed promise a few years ago, but ultimately got pushed to the sideline when the Bucs drafted Jameis Winston. The Jets meanwhile have hit several dead ends over the past two years in their search for a franchise quarterback. When Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan took over two years ago, they wanted to turn the team over to their young signal caller, Geno Smith, to see what they had in the four-year veteran. That plan quickly went awry when IK Enkempali decked Smith in a locker room altercation, forcing the Jets to turn the team over to journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick.
That dumb luck resulted in record breaking numbers for Fitzpatrick in 2015, including nearly 4,000 yards passing and 31 TDs to only 15 INTs. His success prompted an entire offseason of drama with Fitzpatrick holding out for an Osweiler-like contract and the team unwilling to budge. The two sides eventually compromised with a one-year, $12 million deal that brought back Fitzpatrick for what amounted to a one-year audition.
But Ryan failed to duplicate his success from 2015 posting the worst QBR numbers in the league this year (ironically falling just slightly behind Brock Osweiler, who is also struggling despite the big contract). The Jets turned back to Geno Smith only to see his season – and potentially his Jets career – end prematurely when he tore his ACL against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7. Fitzpatrick resumed his role as starter, but has failed to lead the Jets to many more wins. And as reported by the Star Ledger , Coach Bowles refuses to give Bryce Petty a look despite the fact that Jets’ season is all but done.
“There’s a curiosity to all the young guys that are backing up right now. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to start them all right now. There are a lot of guys backing up right now that probably want to be in games that are not ready to play yet. I have a timetable in my head for certain [young] guys that I want to see at different positions. When that time comes, I’ll make those decisions.”
His hesitancy to do so has prompted many to believe that the Jets simply don’t think their future quarterback is currently on their roster. As reported by CBS , Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys could also be a possibility for the quarterback-deficient Jets. Romo lost his job to rookie Dak Prescott, who has led the Cowboys to an impressive 11 game winning streak since taking over after the veteran injured his back.
“Romo would come with risks, of course. He’s fragile and has missed games in each of the last four seasons,” the article stated before getting into the other drawback to chasing after Romo, namely his abysmal playoff record. “But guess what? At least the Cowboys got there. For a dreary team like the Jets, getting a veteran playoff quarterback who still has life in him when healthy could turn the entire franchise around.”
[Featured Image by Rich Schultz/Getty Images]