BroBible
The New York Jets find themselves in a place the franchise is all too familiar with, and that’s without their quarterback of their future on the roster. In typical Jets’ fashion, however, that lack of a franchise quarterback is actually going to cost them just as much as it would if they *did* have one.
According to longtime ESPN Jets beat reporter Rich Cimini, Gang Green owes Aaron Rodgers — currently under contract for one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers — $35 million in 2026, and would also have a $22 million cap charge if they decide to cut Justin Fields, totaling $57 million for a pair of quarterbacks who wouldn’t even be on the roster.
For comparison, Dak Prescott is the highest paid QB in the league at $60 million per season, followed by Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence at $55 million.
“Right now, the Jets are in quarterback hell. They’ve been frequent visitors to this place. Maybe they should’ve drafted one in the second or third round last spring, creating some hope. Maybe they should’ve taken Jaxson Dart in the first round. They opted to go all-in with Fields. [via ESPN]”
With the Fields experiment failing almost instantaneously and backup Tyrod Taylor being 36 years old, the Jets once again find themselves in the NFL purgatory of not having their franchise quarterback on their roster.
They do, however, have a trove of high value draft picks over the next two seasons due to their recent trades of defensive stars Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, respectively. Currently, the Jets have two first round picks and two second round picks in 2026, and three first round picks and one second round pick in 2027.
While the Jets decision to release Aaron Rodgers has been largely clowned on this season, the reality is that after tearing his Achilles in 2023, the Jets were also going to need to find their next hopeful franchise QB. They rolled the dice on reviving Fields’ career and it didn’t work, and now will have to decide between drafting a QB next spring, or signing a veteran stop-gap for next season and selecting a quarterback in 2027.
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