Reich gave some insight<\/a> to The Athletic\u2019s Dan Pompei about how the Jets offense might change with him at the helm. The gist: They\u2019re still figuring it out. Two lines stuck out in Dan\u2019s piece:<\/p>\n\u2022 \u201cThere will \u2026 be fresh concepts like more passing off wide zone, he says, but that probably will depend on which quarterback the Jets settle on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cHe plans to dial up wide receiver Garrett Wilson\u2019s number frequently. Reich says he\u2019s looking for ways to get him lined up at X, F and Z, depending on the formation and play concept.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second point will make Jets fans happy. The first point won\u2019t really be resolved until the Jets have their next quarterback figured out \u2014 and by all accounts, nobody has a great grasp on who that might be just yet. Reich hasn\u2019t called plays in the NFL since 2023, when he was the Panthers\u2019 head coach, a season during which he was fired after 11 games.<\/p>\n
3. What kind of quarterback do they want?<\/p>\n
Reich has typically geared his offense toward pocket passers, but by no means does that mean the Jets will lock in on a quarterback who can\u2019t move. No stone will be left unturned.<\/p>\n
The combine will be a prime opportunity for Mougey, Glenn and Reich to dig into this draft class of quarterbacks. It\u2019s viewed as a weak draft at the position, after Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza, the presumptive No. 1 pick, but the Jets will look deeper to determine if any of the other QBs are worth drafting to develop. It will be a crucial week of evaluation for two of the Jets\u2019 potential targets on Day 1 or 2: Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson and LSU\u2019s Garrett Nussmeier, the two favorites to be the second quarterback drafted. Simpson only had 15 career college starts and struggled down the stretch last season, while Nussmeier had a down year in 2025 as he dealt with injuries.<\/p>\n
How they test will be important \u2014 but even more crucial will be how they interview and process what the Jets\u2019 brass throws at them.<\/p>\n
4. Which starting-caliber QBs will become free agents?<\/p>\n
The quarterback crop in free agency will soon expand. Some notable names could be added to the fray as soon as this week, though the full picture won\u2019t become clear until free agency begins on March 11. Some of the veteran QBs the Jets will likely consider are:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kirk Cousins is a mortal lock to be released by the Atlanta Falcons, as he has a $67.9 million guarantee for 2027 that will kick in if he\u2019s on the roster on March 13.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Arizona Cardinals will try to find a trade partner for Kyler Murray. That might be difficult, considering he\u2019s due $36.8 million in 2026, and another $19.5 million guaranteed for 2027 kicks in if he\u2019s on a roster on March 15.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Miami Dolphins will surely have trouble moving Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s massive contract.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Geno Smith seems likely to be released by the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n
Those four would be much more appealing options for the Jets as free agents, as opposed to trade targets.<\/p>\n
5. How much will it take to trade for a coveted backup QB?<\/p>\n
The Jets have enough draft capital that it\u2019s worth at least exploring what it would take to acquire one of the intriguing young quarterbacks on another roster \u2014 whether it\u2019s to bring that player in as a stopgap or to see if he can develop into a starting-caliber QB.<\/p>\n
Mac Jones tops that list. The San Francisco 49ers have insisted they don\u2019t plan on trading him, but that\u2019s likely a bargaining position meant to drive up his value. It would probably take at least a second-round pick to acquire him.<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 Tanner McKee fits the physical mold (6-6, 231) that Reich likes in his quarterbacks, with the added benefit of him being a Stanford alum (where Reich coached a year ago). Reich is also close with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who worked for Reich in San Diego and Indianapolis. McKee has flashed potential in preseason appearances but is otherwise unproven, and the Eagles\u2019 asking price might be higher than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n
Houston Texans backup Davis Mills also has the size (6-4, 225) and some experience (29 starts), but Houston extended him last offseason. It\u2019s also worth checking in on Cardinals veteran Jacoby Brissett, along with a few other veterans under contract who aren\u2019t in line to start elsewhere.<\/p>\n
6. Who will be released for cap savings?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s really only one cut that feels inevitable, a rarity for any offseason: quarterback Justin Fields. If the Jets release him before June 1, they\u2019ll only save $1 million and carry a $22 million dead cap penalty \u2014 in addition to the $35 million dead cap they\u2019re already carrying for Aaron Rodgers. If they designate Fields a post-June 1 cut, the Jets would save $10 million and spread the dead cap over two years.<\/p>\n
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is due $7.5 million, none of it guaranteed, but he\u2019s not going anywhere. The Jets could technically trade linebacker Jamien Sherwood and save $1.5 million pre-June 1, or $9 million post-June 1, but that feels unlikely as of now.<\/p>\n
7. Are the Raiders at least willing to listen to an offer for the No. 1 pick?<\/p>\n
The answer is almost certainly no, but it can\u2019t hurt to ask what it would cost to move up from No. 2 to No. 1 in pursuit of Mendoza.<\/p>\n
8. What does the market look like for Breece Hall?<\/p>\n
The Jets have until March 3 to decide if they want to place the franchise or transition tag<\/a> on Breece Hall to keep him from free agency. If they don\u2019t already know what their plan is on that decision, they\u2019ll likely know by the end of this week after conversations with Hall\u2019s agent \u2014 and with other teams around the league to gauge the running back\u2019s value.<\/p>\nIf the Jets do tag him \u2014 which remains the expectation \u2014 they would then have the ability to trade him for draft capital. If Hall doesn\u2019t want to be a Jet, or if the Jets don\u2019t want him long-term, that would be a much better outcome than losing him for nothing; a potential compensatory pick in 2027 wouldn\u2019t be guaranteed, especially if the Jets are active in free agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A year ago, Aaron Glenn arrived at the NFL combine for the first time as the Jets\u2019 head…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":610692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,5287,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-610691","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-new-york-jets","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116120656706275816","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}