The New York Jets were better than most expected them to be last season, but it still doesn’t mean there isn’t a fair share of upgrading that needs to be done. The quarterback position isn’t exactly solid, which why it’s not that surprising to see them possibly going after Josh McCown, who was pretty good whenever the Chicago Bears let him play last season.
According to the New York Daily News, the Jets are seriously looking into the option of signing McCown just in case their faith in Geno Smith doesn’t pan out and he regresses in his second NFL season. McCown will be obviously getting a lot of interest come March 11 after his impressive relief performances for Cutler last season in Chicago, and his age (35) isn’t going to get in the way.
McCown has been the backup quarterback for the Bears since 2011, but his 8 games last season (5 stars, in which the Bears went 3-2) were his most since the 2007 season in Oakland when he started nine times. He completed 66.5% of his passes, throwing 13 touchdowns to only one interception and putting up a 109.0 passer rating in his best stint ever as an NFL quarterback, surprisingly coming in his 12th season.
Rex Ryan hasn’t been cheap when it comes to heaping praise on Geno Smith, but it’s hard to admit he looked like a franchise quarterback during his first season. Smith threw only 12 touchdown passes while being intercepted 21 times, completing 55.8% of his passes, posting a 66.5 passer rating in his 16 starts. He struggled to succeed with a less than average pass-catching ensemble, which might be the most important addition the Jets need to make this offseason, while having a better offensive line wouldn’t hurt either.
The Jets are going to release Mark Sanchez, finally, which will open up a spot for someone like McCown to come in and be a strong competitor for the starting spot against the inconsistent Smith. Heading into the second year of his NFL career, it’s his job to lose, and Ryan is usually very loyal to his quarterbacks through bad patches as well, but it’s probably not going to take much for McCown to find himself starting even without any injuries to help him.