Sam Darnold is the future of the Jets franchise, but for two years the team has not employed a backup quarterback capable of leading the team in Darnold’s absence. That needs to change this offseason after Darnold missed three games with mono a year after missing another three games with a foot injury. The Jets went 0-6 during those games without Darnold, and Joe Douglas should invest more money in the position as he begins to explore free agency.
There are some good options in free agency for Douglas to look at and bring in behind Darnold. They’ll look at quarterbacks with a good mix of experience, age and production that won’t cost more than $5 million against the cap in 2020. Yes, that’s a lot of money to pay a backup, but considering how poorly the likes of Luke Falk and David Fales played in 2019, it’s worth it.
Here are five backup quarterbacks the Jets should look at in free agency.
Case Keenum
Keenum should be No. 1 on the Jets’ backup quarterback radar. He’s experienced and productive enough to play in a pinch, but not a real threat to Darnold’s job and not so old that he couldn’t run an offense. Keenum, who recently turned 32, has 62 starts for six different teams in nine seasons and even lead the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship game in 2017. During his career, he’s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 14,368 yards and 75 touchdowns – including two 3,000-yard passing seasons as a full-time starter for the Vikings and Broncos from 2017-18.
The Redskins gave Keenum a one-year, $3.5 million deal in 2019; he’d likely command a similar contract this offseason. While not too expensive, that’s still $650,000 more than what the Jets gave Trevor Siemian and David Fales combined this past season.
Matt Moore
Moore has the perfect blend of experience and production to be a great backup for Darnold. He’s started 32 games in his 11-year career with a career completion percentage of 60.1 percent. Gase loves his old quarterbacks, too, and Moore started five games for him in Miami from 2016-17. Moore finished 2-3 as a starter under Gase and threw for 1,582 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Despite his age – he’ll turn 36 in August – Moore still put together a solid season in Kansas City when Patrick Mahomes missed two games with a knee injury. Moore went 1-1 in those contests but threw for four touchdowns without an interception in the three games he played in Mahomes’ relief. It wouldn’t cost much to sign Moore, either – he only earned $1.03 million with Kansas City in 2019.
Chase Daniel
Daniel is a career backup, which makes him one of the better free agent options if Douglas wants a guy who can quickly learn an offense and play if called upon. He’s played for four teams over his career and spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears on a nice two-year, $10 million contract. Daniel has played sparingly over his 10-year career with just five starts and five touchdowns on 218 passing attempts.
He’d be a great mentor for Darnold, especially considering Daniel played for some of the best coaches in the league – Andy Reid, Sean Payton and Doug Pederson — but he would come at a cost. Daniel’s past three contracts have been worth between $10-11 million, and there’s no reason to believe he’d play for less.
Kyle Allen
Allen proved to be a competent starter the past two seasons for the Panthers but isn’t good enough to take over the role for a team full-time. He’d be a risky backup choice given he’s only a year older than Darnold – 23 – and was a part of the same draft class. However, his stats at times made him look like a quality quarterback and he could be a solid backup for the Jets if Gase and Douglas are interested in keeping his quarterback room cheaper and younger.
In 12 starts this past season, Allen completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He’s a pure pocket passer, something Gase obviously likes in his quarterbacks. Allen would also be a lot cheaper because of his age and experience.
Blaine Gabbert
Gabbert is a good mix of experience, youth and ability that the Jets could use behind Darnold. He’s started 48 games in eight seasons, recently turned 30 years old and has almost 15,000 passing attempts to his name for 9,063 yards. Gabbert isn’t a good quarterback – he’s only completed 56.2 percent of his passes and has 47 interceptions to his name – but he’s cheap and can play better than his stats give him credit for.
There hasn’t been much expectation for Gabbert since the Jaguars let him go in 2013, but he’s performed admirably since then. His completion percentage rose to 59 percent between his stints in San Francisco, Arizona and Tennessee and he’s been able to lead multiple teams. Gabbert isn’t going to win games for the Jets, but he might not lose them if he needed to start.
