Here is a good look at the 2026 Veteran QB Market, which includes some free agents and trade possibilities. This is from a thread in the JetNation forums. Full post below, but be sure to follow that link for the full conversation.
In whatever order anyone has them, and specifically excluding Rodgers + Zach (and Fields who’s probably getting cut, too) as Jets options for obvious reasons, the pool of available or potentially-available list for 2026 isn’t the worst (given what’s usually available; it isn’t typically a still-good Peyton Manning, or even Darnold last year who was considered a risky long term investment at the time).
With the upcoming leaked/announced releases, the list now includes:
- M.Willis: [unknown how much or how long a commitment is required]
- Carr
- Tua*
- Murray*
- Geno*
- Cousins
- Mariota
- Garoppolo
- Wentz
- Flacco
- Minshew
- Howell
- T.Taylor
- R.Wilson
- Bridgewater
- McKee: [via trade only, unknown but likely between a 2nd-4th rounder]
- Mac Jones: [via trade only, unknown but likely between 2nd-4th rounder]
- Deshaun Watson: [He just restructured today, so either he gets cut this month with Cleveland designating him a post-6/1 cut, or he could be available via trade after June 1st, and it’s doubtful that’d be a costly trade at that]
As much as I really don’t want the Jets to sign either one, I guess technically one could also add the likes of Trubisky & Pickett to the list as QB2 candidates. And while Rodgers + Zach + Fields aren’t candidates for the Jets, their additions to this list does free up 1-3 other names.
Unless there’s someone obvious I’m just absentmindedly missing, I think that’s everyone.
The ones with the *s should be really cheap purely due to guarantees from their prior teams (anything a new team pays is just offsetting guaranteed money they get from the prior team, so there’s little need to pay much more, and maybe not anything more, than the veteran minimum). The only way they get more than that is if someone inks them to more than one season.
I mean, again, no, it’s not the greatest assembly of 2026 QB names, but it’s not the shortest list either. There are enough names here where they ought to be able to find a QB1 + QB2 to get them by without having to reach early in the 2026 draft, and hold them over at least until the better 2027 draft class.