The Jets’ offseason has revolved around one thing and one thing only: pursuing a veteran quarterback. We’ve heard head coach Robert Saleh talk about it, and team owner Woody Johnson has discussed the team’s desire for a “good” quarterback to line up under center next season.
At the moment, the signal-caller most commonly mentioned in the Jets’ pursuit of an upgrade is Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. But what if he emerges from his darkness retreat and decides he doesn’t want to play for New York? There are several other veteran options that could be a fit for what the Jets are looking for.
The home-run alternative would be Lamar Jackson, but that seems like a longshot. A more plausible one would be pursuing Derek Carr, who recently became a free agent. But if you ask former QB and current NFL analyst, Dan Orlovsky, he thinks Carr would be way down on New York’s priority list.
If the @nyjets can’t or don’t want to get Rodgers I’d bet they’re much more willing to go after Jimmy G or Tannehill than they are Carr.
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) February 16, 2023
Hearing Jimmy Garoppolo’s name isn’t new. His name has been connected to the Jets since the completion of the regular season. As for Ryan Tannehill, his name has come up more recently. Reports have surfaced that the Jets are “a lot higher” than others may believe on the Tennessee Titans quarterback.
OK, so why? Tannehill has had some solid seasons in Nashville, but the other available options appear to be far superior to him. Or maybe not so much.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini has been sharing some stats over the past day or so that paint Tannehill in a positive light. Here they are:
Fiddling around with some numbers: Completion-percentage rankings on tight-window throws (<1 yd sep from defender when pass arrives):
Rodgers – 3rd
Tannehill – 5th
Wilson – 15th
Carr – 28th
Garoppolo – 33rdNote: Min 200 total pass attempts. @NextGenStats #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) February 16, 2023
Let's try completion-percentage rankings on "open" throws (3-5 yd sep when pass arrives):
Tannehill – 11th
Carr – 13th
Garoppolo – 24th
Rodgers – 27th
Wilson — 31stMin: 200 total attempts @NextGenStats #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) February 16, 2023
#Jets had red-zone issues, so let's take a look at how "The QBs" fared in QBR ranking in red area (33 QBs w/ min 200 atts):
Tannehill — (77.1) 5th
Garoppolo — (68.7) 10th
Z Wilson — (65.2) 14th
Carr — (54.4) 23rd
Rodgers — (28.5) 33rdEye opening@ESPNStatsInfo #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) February 17, 2023
It’s interesting to see Tannehill at the top in two of these categories, as well as coming in a close second for another one. Based on his stature within the game and contract situation, Rodgers is probably the ultimate short-term solution for New York. That’s especially the case if the organization sincerely wants to develop Zach Wilson in hopes that he can eventually be the franchise’s long-term answer at quarterback.
However, it’s getting a little easier to see why the Jets are high on Tannehill. Outside of the above stats, he’s only under contract for one more year. And with a base salary of $27 million, he might just be the cheapest of all the Jets’ external options. Acquiring Tannehill would also allow the Jets the flexibility to see how things look a year from now instead of getting themselves into another multi-year commitment.
But considering the options available to the Jets, ending up with Tannehill would definitely feel like a letdown. Then again, who knows — it might be exactly what New York needs. We’ll just have to wait and see what Rodgers wants to do before we get too ahead of ourselves, though.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
