New York Jets

Mike Glennon is the best quarterback option for Jets

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:57 p.m. ET

Fansided, Chris Stephano/FanSided via The Jet Press

The New York Jets need to add a quarterback that is both affordable and consistent. Mike Glennon is the best option for next season.

Considering their team has been denied good quarterback play for so long, it’s easy for fans of the New York Jets to want to find a quick fix. While there are no perfect solutions, acquiring quarterback Mike Glennon would be the most realistic and affordable way for the Jets to address the quarterback position in 2017.

It is impossible to write about the Jets without addressing the constant elephant in the room, the quarterback position. Like every other writer here at The Jet Press, I’ve written plenty of articles about this problem, about quarterbacks the team should or shouldn’t add.

Unfortunately, nothing has changed. After a disastrous second season from Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Jets are once again forced to address the quarterback position.

Although I don’t know what the perfect quarterback solution is for the Jets, it’s fair to say that no one on the current roster represents a viable starter. Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith will almost certainly not be re-signed. Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg will remain with the Jets, but they are questionable prospects who need more time (and maybe some magic and blind hope) to develop.

Realizing this problem, there are Jets fans who expect a proven franchise quarterback to arrive at their team’s doorstep any minute.

More from The Jet Press

The grim reality is that it’s highly unlikely that Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Kirk Cousins, or even Tyrod Taylor will be joining the Jets anytime soon. Rivers and Cousins are never going to realistically be available. Romo is too old, expensive, and injury prone to be a viable solution. And while it is possible that the Bills may release Taylor, the Jets should not be holding their collective breath on it.

The Jets don’t have a realistic in-house quarterback option, and they probably won’t be able to acquire a proven starter. Where does that leave them? Is there no hope?

Well, it is the Jets we’re talking about, so hope will always be a risky proposition. That said, since the Jets aren’t disbanding anytime soon (or moving to Los Angeles which seems to be the new trend), they may as well try to fix the quarterback problem.

Enter Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon. For a variety of reasons, Glennon has been largely relegated to a backup role for most of his career. However, in his limited playing time, he has shown ability and production (30 TD/15 INT) that suggests real potential.

Unlike many of the established veteran options being suggested, Glennon (27) is young enough to grow and develop with the Jets up-and-coming wide receivers. And in terms of salary and trade compensation, Glennon would cost the Jets far less than Romo or Taylor.

The real question is how much would be signing Glennon cost the Jets? Last year, the Houston Texans offered an unproven Brock Osweiler a four year/$72 million contract. Given Osweiler’s atrocious play this year, the Texans will probably regret that decision for a long time. The Jets have no desire to make a similar blunder.

Then again, perhaps the Osweiler debacle has made other teams reluctant to offer large contracts to unproven players. Maybe Glennon could be acquired in the $10-$12 million/year range, with limited guaranteed money? If an offer like that could land Glennon, the Jets should make it.

There is considerable risk behind offering a large contract to a quarterback with 18 career starts. But in the modern NFL, it’s impossible to make any move involving quarterbacks that aren’t considerably risky. Glennon is the highest-upside, lowest-risk option on the market right now. The Jets need to make a serious play for him.