It might come as a shock to someone like Garrett Wilson, who has suffered through a never-ending string of subpar quarterbacks under center for New York. Taylor, a journeyman entering his 15th NFL season, most recently completed 65 percent of his passes for five touchdowns and three interceptions over 11 appearances for the Giants in 2023. He had 119 yards and three scores on 22 attempts last season as Aaron Rodgers’ backup. Rosenblatt expects the Jets to pursue Justin Fields in free agency this offseason after Fields flamed out with the Steelers in 2024. Fields was Wilson’s quarterback at Ohio State before they pair entered the NFL. Rosenblatt expects a deal for Fields to be heavy with incentives.

Taylor, per Rosenblatt, is “beloved by many in the Jets locker room, namely Garrett Wilson.” There’s almost no chance that Taylor can absorb 17 games of punishment entering his age-36 season. He couldn’t handle it four years ago in 2021 when he was the Texans starter heading into the regular season. But he’ll be effective until hurt, and could probably play a bridge quarterback role for the Jets in 2025. Rosenblatt believes it is “conceivable that Taylor will compete with a rookie or another QB option in training camp for the right to start in Week 1.”

Perhaps Woody Johnson was right to want Aaron Rodgers benched before Week 5. Taylor lead a couple of scoring drives against Buffalo’s backups before getting a helmet pat from Bills coach Sean McDermott. If called upon in Week 18, Taylor would be an interesting superflex QB2 against the Dolphins. We don’t expect that to happen as things stand currently, but things move fast in Week 18.

It’s finally a real backup for Aaron Rodgers, though 35-year-old Taylor (in August) has grown brittle as he ages. Prone to holding the ball in the pocket, Taylor doesn’t exactly go out of his way to avoid contact. Still a top 5-6 backup, Taylor now slides in as one of the league’s most critical reserves. Jets fans could convince themselves they might have earned a Wild Card berth had Taylor been in New York instead of Zach Wilson, et al. last season, but like most No. 2 types, Taylor’s returns have a way of diminishing the longer he starts. All still rests on Rodgers’ achilles.