Earlier this week, the New York Jets hosted 10-time Pro Bowler and 37-year-old quarterback Russell Wilson for a free agent visit.

At this juncture, he is the Jets’ best QB2 option for two key reasons.

Starting experience and health

Wilson, 37, is one of the most experienced active quarterbacks in the league. The 2026 campaign will mark his 15th season in the NFL. Since being selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft, he has made 202 starts while leading teams to a 121-80-1 record across his starts.

He is also rarely injured. Aside from a reaggravating calf issue that held him out for the first few weeks of the 2024 season, Wilson has been an iron man. Reliability is highly important for backup quarterbacks.

Take Tyrod Taylor, for example. He had established a reputation as one of the league’s top backup QBs when healthy, but he struggles to stay on the field. Most teams covet his level of talent in a QB2, but his injury history is the primary reason why he is still a free agent.

Reliability and experience are the two things Gang Green should prioritize most at this stage when searching for a QB2, and Wilson checks both of those boxes.

Best of a bad bunch

Has Wilson been a great quarterback since leaving Seattle, or even decent? No, not at all. But he is not being brought in to be the team’s starter. Signing with the Jets would place him in a backup role.

It is important to be realistic about the team’s options. Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook have consistently failed to show anything that makes them a viable QB2 option. Fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik is a project.

With Wilson, there is at least a clear barometer of who he is. He is still able to make throws on the run and operate a conventional offense, which can’t be said for the Jets’ three internal options.

Wilson’s 77.4 passer rating in six games (three starts) with the Giants last season is significantly higher than Zappe’s 51.0 rating in 2024 and Cook’s 55.4 mark last season. Looking back at a larger sample of 17 games (14 starts) across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Wilson logged a 90.8 passer rating, creating an even steeper gap.

While Wilson isn’t the quarterback he once was, he profiles as the ideal QB2 for the Jets at this point.