The Jets have a backup plan.
The team secured two quarterbacks to back up starter Zach Wilson this year, bringing back two of his backups from last year.
The team and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco agreed to a one-year contract on Wednesday, according to his agent Joe Linta. The deal is worth $3.5 million plus incentives, according to a source.
Flacco, 37, started one game for the Jets last season after coming over in a trade from the Eagles at the end of October. Flacco threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to the Dolphins. He appeared in one other game, throwing a touchdown.
The Jets also gave quarterback Mike White, a restricted free agent, the original-round tender, according to a source. That is worth $2.54 million. That means the Jets would receive a fifth-round pick if they declined to match an offer sheet for White. The Cowboys took White in the fifth round of the 2018 draft.
Jets coach Robert Saleh indicated in his season-ending press conference that the Jets would bring back Flacco and White. He said he would be vocal about wanting Flacco to return.
“I think our quarterback room and the way it’s set up now with Joe Flacco and Mike White, I know that they’re going into contract years and all that stuff, but the setup that we had this year has been ideal,” Saleh said in January. “Bringing in Joe, I know the outside world doesn’t see it, but Joe [Douglas, GM] bringing in Flacco for that sixth-round pick, I don’t think anyone realizes how big of a deal that was in terms of just, even for me, I didn’t expect it to be the impact that I wasn’t expecting in terms of just the assist, in terms of developing the quarterback and the room in general. Obviously, with the room that’s set up, it would be perfect if we can get them all back, but again, these are all discussions that we’ll have here in the future.”
Flacco, who won a Super Bowl MVP with the Ravens following the 2012 season, gives the Jets a veteran presence in the quarterback room, something they lacked for most of last year until the trade for Flacco.
He is a 14-year veteran who has also played for the Broncos. Flacco spent the 2020 season with the Jets as Sam Darnold’s backup and started four games when Darnold was injured. Flacco is fifth among active quarterbacks in career passing yards with 41,269. Just Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford have more.
Flacco has 227 career touchdowns and 144 interceptions. He is 98-78 as a starter but has not won a game since 2019 with the Broncos.
White, 26, became an overnight sensation when he made his first career start last season against the Bengals. He threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns as the Jets beat the eventual AFC champs. He started two more games after that, but dealt with an injury in his second start and was ineffective in his third and final start. He was sidelined by COVID for a good chunk of the final portion of the season.
On Wednesday, the Jets also agreed on a one-year deal with backup offensive lineman Dan Feeney, according to a source. They also gave kicker Eddy Pineiro an original-round tender, according to a source.
The Jets also traded linebacker Blake Cashman to the Texans in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick, according to a source. Cashman was a fifth-round pick of the Jets in 2019, but he struggled to stay healthy. Cashman played just 14 games in three years and mostly saw time on special teams.
Cashman is the latest of former GM Mike Maccagnan’s picks to be shipped out. The Jets now have just four of Maccagnan’s 34 picks still on the roster — Quinnen Williams, Chuma Edoga, Trevon Wesco and Nathan Shepherd.