AFC East Rumors: Jets QBs, Wooldridge, McDonald

With Aaron Rodgers out of New York, the new quarterback on the block is Justin Fields. Fields will be backed up by veteran Tyrod Taylor, who hasn’t held a full-time starting role since his time in Buffalo in 2017. Past that, though, the Jets have two inexperienced options to compete for that QB3 role.

Adrian Martinez and undrafted rookie Brady Cook will be the two competing for that job. Martinez spent time at Nebraska and Kansas State before going undrafted in 2023. He spent an offseason as a rookie with the Lions but failed to stick around for the regular season. He did play in the United Football League in 2024 for the Birmingham Stallions, leading the team to a championship victory while earning the league’s MVP award and leading the league in rushing yards.

Cook was a three-year starter at Missouri, compiling a 20-5 record in his last two seasons with the Tigers. He’s efficient at limiting turnovers and displayed some decent mobility as a rusher in college.

What’s interesting is that, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, neither player is likely to make the 53-man roster to start the season. Costello predicts that the team will only hold two quarterbacks (Fields and Taylor) on the roster, and the winner of the Martinez-Cook battle will likely be assigned to the practice squad.

Here are a couple of other rumors coming out of the AFC East:

• Staying in the realm of quarterbacks, after trading away Joe Milton to Dallas, the Patriots were in need of a QB3 of their own to work behind Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs. Enter undrafted rookie Ben Wooldridge. Wooldridge will be an older rookie at 25 years old after spending three years at Fresno State and four at Louisiana. One reason for the extra years was injury; he suffered a Lisfranc injury one season and dealt with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder last year. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the toughness and determination that kept him going through those injuries to earn the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year is exactly what landed him an NFL opportunity and could keep him in the league for years to come.
• The Jets liked what they saw out of defensive end Will McDonald in his sophomore campaign as he notched 10.5 sacks. They will hope to see him improve another part of his game in 2025 after he reportedly gained 15 pounds in order to help him set the edge, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. Jermaine Johnson is coming off an Achilles tendon tear and was seen at Organized Team Activities this week working with trainers off to the side, according to the staff at NFL.com. With a training camp return for Johnson still up in the air, New York may need to lean on McDonald early in the upcoming season.