Sure, maybe the New York Jets shouldn’t be turning their nose up at the prospect of stabilizing the quarterback position on their roster. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to throw their hat into the ring for anyone.
That includes Will Levis, a former second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans, who has been floated as a trade candidate this offseason. The Jets are among a handful of teams being linked to Levis’ services.
Zack Rosenblatt Weighs In on the Jets’ Connection to Will Levis
Backup quarterbacks don’t exactly grow on trees, so if you aren’t taking a swing on one in free agency, your best bet is to develop your own in-house talent. The Titans have all but officially moved on from the Levis experiment after drafting Cam Ward last spring with the No. 1 overall pick.
Levis’ days as a starting quarterback appear to be over, but only for now. We’ve seen a number of reclamation projects at the position thrive over the last few years with newfound opportunities, ranging from Sam Darnold to Daniel Jones. Even Geno Smith, who returned to the Jets earlier this month, was a three-year starter for the Seattle Seahawks and, for the most part, played well.
Well enough to sign a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders last year and start 15 games for them in 2025. The Raiders were 2-13 in those games while Smith threw 19 touchdowns to a league-leading 17 interceptions. He was traded to the Jets, reuniting him with the team that originally drafted him with a second-round pick in 2013.
With Smith at the helm and the high likelihood that the Jets will draft a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick, Levis appears to be out of the question.
“The backup market has mostly dried up, other than a couple of options,” writes The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt. “Tyrod Taylor and Cooper Rush would be the most likely candidates at this juncture, but the Jets might hold off on making any decision until closer to the draft at this point.”
The universal belief is that the Raiders will draft Indiana’s Heisman-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, with the No. 1 overall pick, leaving Alabama’s Ty Simpson as a likely candidate for the Jets at No. 2. The draft is a month away, however, so the Jets will still have a lot of their own homework to do on Simpson and any other potential prospect.
Until they hone in on Simpson as their franchise quarterback, acquiring a backup to Smith is still in play. The last thing they’ll want to do is pigeonhole themselves into a position where Smith is their starter, and they don’t have a viable option behind him.
“That would include exploring the trade market for someone like Levis or Saints backup Spencer Rattler, though the Jets aren’t eager to trade a lot for a backup who isn’t part of their long-term plan,” writes Rosenblatt. “As of a week or two ago, there wasn’t any movement on a trade for Levis.”
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It takes two to tango. The Titans may also not be willing to part ways with Levis, who has started 21 games for them since being drafted in the second round in 2023. According to PFSN’s QB Impact metric, Levis had a grade of D+ in 2023 and a D- in 2024.
The Titans are 5-16 in those games, and Levis has thrown 21 touchdowns to 16 interceptions in addition to one rushing score, but that’s still extensive and valuable experience as a No. 2 to Ward.
