What about our old friend Geno Smith? Seems like the Raiders wouldnt want him if they do in fact take Mendoza. Could probably get him in a trade for a late round swap
His contract is prohibitive, he signed in April '25 a 2 year extension at $75M, with $66M guaranteed. He'd have to first agree to restructure and then you have to give up a pick/swap. He's also 35 and looks like he hit the wall. 19 tds-17ints... At that point, might as well put all your eggs in on Willis (and the $50M he will want).
Not the worst idea in the world. He looked bad last year, but his Oline was awful...... Curious where his heads space would be coming back to the Jets. You would have to think he's matured a lot, but then those videos came out this year him cursing out Seahawk fans bragging about his bank account and giving them the bird. Edit: wasn't sure about his contract. @SoylentGreen cleared that up. Definitely not as intriguing now......
Geno Smith was fine this year. For a guy with three D-linemen arriving with the snap of the ball, I'd say he played quite well. That doesn't mean I want him here, but that is for baggage reasons and isn't a reflection on his ability to play QB in the NFL in 2026.
$50M????????? Forget it then. I saw the below in an article on HEAVY.com "Willis is projected by Spotrac to garner a one-year, $10 million contract, which is a top-tier backup quarterback salary. Darnold signed the same deal to compete for the starting job with the Minnesota Vikings."
Then again, -- Forbes says the below; "Willis is expected to land a deal in the $25-$30 million per year range." https://www.forbes.com/sites/robrei...ill-be-a-hot-commodity-when-free-agency-hits/
Malik is probably my choice from the FA QB pool but he's definitely going to get paid. I'm not sure a contract with him and a 2027-drafted QB will be compatible.
If Fields got $20M/year, you better believe Willis is going to get in that range. That's well within the Jets cap situation. Get 'er done, Mougey.
I thought it would be around 20m, like Fields, but thinking about it some more, 25-30 makes more sense. First, salaries go up every year. Second, QB market is more depleted than ever, with him being a top guy along with Mendoza, and really not much after. And finally, there was a lot of tape on Fields, where there was some good, but a lot of bad too. Willis has 5 games of tape since rookie season (in the last two years, though he did not start all 5 but was the main QB there), and all were pretty much excellent. Think of it like this: he is young and physically gifted, you do not need to spend a 1st round pick on him, and he is coming off 5 NFL games, which were not just good, but excellent, and no bad ones at all since the rookie year. Even though it is a relatively small sample size, and that with MLF, who is a great QB friendly coach, but still there will be a lot of demand for his services, which will drive the price up. I doubt he is coming to the Jets because several teams will offer good packages, and I don't think he is eager to be coached by Charles London again, who tanked his value from 3d round to the 7th (in a trade from GB), but even if we get rid of London, I think he would find a different destination that will pay him a lot even if we do want him. P.S. Why is Charles London still our QB coach?
No chance. The guy put up 5 outstanding NFL games and no bad tape in last two years. Physically gifted (though a bit short) and young. He is getting a lot more than 10 mil.
The QB position, in general, is stupid ridiculous at the salary level. You’d THINK the league would figure it out.
