It is May, and the New York Jets are still without a no-doubt-about-it QB2 on the depth chart.

After the team hosted Russell Wilson for a visit on Tuesday, whom Geno Smith reportedly “raved” about, there was some belief that the team could have signed him to fill that role, which would have made a lot of sense.

However, recent reports indicate he is most likely going to hang up his cleats ahead of the 2026 season and pursue a broadcasting opportunity.

At this juncture, re-signing a 36-year-old, injury-prone Tyrod Taylor seems unlikely. Is it really worth signing someone like Cooper Rush, who is in his 30s and coming off his worst NFL season?

Looking at the Jets’ roster, Gang Green currently has four quarterbacks rostered: Geno Smith, Bailey Zappe, Brady Cook, and fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik.

Naming Cook QB2 after his rough play in four starts last season is nonsensical. The same can be said of Klubnik, who is viewed more as a project than an immediate QB2.

Then, there’s the wild card in this mix, a football player named Bailey Zappe…

Could Zappe suffice?

Since entering the league as a fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky in 2022, Zappe, 27, has bounced around the league. Zappe already has stints with the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cleveland Browns on his resume.

In the NFL, he has made 9 starts across 15 games, completing 62.1% of his passes for 2,223 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. His win-loss record is 4-5, with 3 of those victories coming on the road.

The Jets signed him to a futures deal in January, a type of contract commonly used on former practice squad players who become free agents after the season.

Whilst it was viewed as a long shot when the team signed him, there is a chance the Jets end up rolling with Zappe as their QB2.

The numbers don’t particularly paint the Western Kentucky product as a high-end QB2, but given where the Jets stand right now, it could make sense to give him the role instead of making a trade for someone like Will Levis or Spencer Rattler, or bringing in another vet on the free agent market.

Zappe only counts for $1.075M against the Jets’ books this season, since he signed a futures deal. That is as cheap as it gets for a backup quarterback.

The Jets aren’t exactly pressed against the cap, as their $39.5 million in space ranks sixth in the league, but that doesn’t mean it should be spent loosely. They’d be better off using those resources to address needs at linebacker, backup running back, and wide receiver, rather than committing money to what would likely be, at best, a low to middle-tier QB2.

With Wilson most likely out of the picture, the gap between Zappe and the remaining pool of free agent QBs isn’t wide at all.

Here is a list of the remaining free agent signal-callers (aside from Wilson):

  • Aaron Rodgers
  • Tyrod Taylor
  • Cooper Rush
  • Jimmy Garoppolo
  • John Wolford
  • Easton Stick
  • Brett Rypien
  • Skylar Thompson
  • Jeff Driskel

Zappe’s career passer rating of 76.0 is the second-highest among QBs on this list (minimum 250 passing attempts), excluding Rodgers, Taylor, and Garoppolo.

Unfortunately for the lingering Rodgers truthers, the 42-year-old will not be making a return to New York. A Taylor reunion seems unlikely, and Garoppolo will almost certainly sign as a backup with a contender or retire.

The only QB with a higher career rating than Zappe is Rush, who was atrocious last season with the Baltimore Ravens.

In his two starts with Baltimore last season, he led the team to a 0-2 record, while completing 65.4% of his passes for 303 yards, zero touchdowns, and four interceptions. It got so ugly that he was benched in favor of Tyler “Snoop” Huntley.

It wasn’t the ideal solution when he first signed, but rolling with Zappe at QB2 could make sense for the Jets, given the remaining options.