Jets' Frank Reich Hire Sparks QB Talk, Including One-Time Pro Bowler

The New York Jets rolled the dice on Tanner Engstrand as the team's offensive coordinator in 2025 and now are turning towards a more experienced option in Frank Reich.

New York announced Reich's hiring on Wednesday. He comes to New York with vast coaching experience across the league. He has been a head coach in the National Football League and an offensive coordinator, among many roles. Reich won Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles as the team's offensive coordinator. Now, he'll try to bring that experience to New York to try to fix the offense.

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With Reich, the Jets are getting a former quarterback who actually played for New York, a coach with endless experience and also someone known for developing quarterbacks as a coach. That last point is something the Jets certainly need after how the 2025 campaign went. Justin Fields started the season as the starter and was eventually benched for Tyrod Taylor and then an injury opened the door for undrafted rookie Brady Cook. The Jets need to figure out the position and bringing in someone who has had success with quarterbacks, arguably is the right move.

Who will be the Jets' quarterback in 2026?

Oct 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) drops back to pass against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

For New York, there are different paths it could take. New York needs to rebuild the room. Taylor is a pending free agent. Cook isn't the answer. Fields is under contract in 2026. Arguably, it would be interesting to see if Reich can get more out of him, but if the Jets move on then they will need to add multiple options. The Jets would need a veteran in that scenario, as well as hopefully a flyer on someone in the 2026 National Football League Draft. After Reich's hiring, ESPN's Rich Cimini threw Jacoby Brissett's name out as a "name to watch," but more interestingly mentioned Carson Wentz.

"If you look at Frank Reich's coaching career, he's worked almost exclusively with taller, pocket-style passers," Cimini wrote. "The exception was his last QB, Bryce Young (5-10) -- and that was a disaster. (There were rumors that Reich didn't want to draft Young and preferred C.J. Stroud.)

"The name to watch is Jacoby Brissett (Arizona), Reich's starter in 2019 (Colts). He's under contract, so the Jets would have to trade for him. Another former Reich QB is free agent Carson Wentz, but that didn't end well in Indy and he's only 3 months removed from left-shoulder surgery. "

If the Jets don't retain Fields, the free agent pool is going to be thin. Outside of Wentz, other options are Malik Willis, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, among a few others. Not a deep group. Wentz is someone with experience under Reich and is a pocket-passer through and through. New York averaged 140.3 passing yards per game in 2025.

Wentz is just 33 years old and made starts in 2025. He averaged 243.3 passing yards per game while throwing for six touchdowns and five interceptions. Not exactly pretty, but could move the ball better than New York did in 2025 while allowing a young guy to develop behind the scenes. Plus, he has plenty of experience under his belt. He was a Pro Bowler, has a Super Bowl ring and was an MVP candidate at one point back in the day, finishing third for the award in just his second season in 2017. Why not give him a chance? It couldn't be much worse than the 2025 campaign.

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