Jets Quarterbacks Unlikely To Return In 2026

The New York Jets' 2025 season came to an end on Sunday and it wasn't the season that anyone could've hoped for.

To be fair, the Jets dealt with a plethora of injuries throughout the campaign. For example, Alijah Vera-Tucker wasn't able to play in a game in 2025 and Garrett Wilson played in just seven. The Jets also traded Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams away, which is obviously going to hurt a team's production. But the season was disjointed early on and the Jets never were able to recover.

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The offseason is here and soon enough we will start to hear about decisions from the franchise. Last offseason, the Jets quickly went into hiring mode and landed Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey and then reports surfaced indicating that the team was moving on from Aaron Rodgers around the Super Bowl. These next few weeks will be the building blocks for hopefully a transformational offseason. But where do the Jets stand at the game's most important position? The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt noted that both Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor are unlikely to return.

The Jets have a long offseason ahead

Nov 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) and New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) react after the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

"Quarterback: Brady Cook — 11-for-22 for 60 yards and one touchdown against the Bills — is not a solution to be the starter or backup," Rosenblatt wrote. "Justin Fields will likely be released after a failed experiment to resurrect his career. Tyrod Taylor will hit free agency, and it feels unlikely at this juncture (he was a healthy scratch Sunday) that he will return. The Jets, again, will enter the offseason in search of a starting quarterback. They’ll be picking No. 2 in April’s draft and will spend the next few weeks praying that Dante Moore enters the draft rather than returns to the University of Oregon, which remains a possibility. If he doesn’t declare, the landscape at the position looks bleak."

The quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. As of writing, Fernando Mendoza appears to be the top quarterback in the draft class, but there's plenty of time to go until the draft. Dante Moore is widely projected to be the No. 2 quarterback in the class if he opts to enter the draft.

For the Jets, the answer isn't on the roster. Fields showed some flashes, but struggled to get the ball downfield and was benched. Taylor is 36 years old and was turnover-prone and couldn't stay healthy. Brady Cook struggled under center.

Changes are coming and we should start to get more information over the next few weeks.

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