Getty The group of three quarterbacks warming up ahead of New York Jets practice.
Throughout this offseason, one of the top storylines to watch has been who will emerge as the New York Jets backup quarterback?
We all know that Zach Wilson, the rookie quarterback that was selected with the No. 2 overall pick out of BYU in the 2021 NFL draft, will be the starting quarterback Week 1 vs the Carolina Panthers.
The Jets haven’t announced that officially, but it seems to be a foregone conclusion. Especially when you consider who his current competition is at the position.
Neither Mike White (a journeyman passer) nor James Morgan (second-year quarterback that has yet to be active for an NFL game) has shown any signs that they can challenge Wilson for the top spot.
Which has led many to speculate, should the green and white pursue another option?
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An Outside the Office Kind of Hire?
We’ve explored many of those choices over the last several months.
In free agency, the cabinet is pretty barren, although there are a few intriguing options led by former Baylor product Robert Griffin III.
While the other apparent option is Chicago Bears passer Nick Foles who has a clear and obvious connection to general manager Joe Douglas. The veteran passer is still under contract in the windy city, but it seems to be a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ he’ll become available one way or another (eventually released or traded later this summer).
Although there’s another option that Jets fans and the media have completely overlooked this offseason that may be the best solution of them all.
What About Captain James Morgan?
“James Morgan has the traits to develop into a long-term backup quarterback. He moves well and throws out of structure pretty well,” Connor Rogers on the Badlands feed. “If you coach him up the right way I think you can get him to play in structure. I think he’s actually a really nice fit in this new scheme with the Jets from what he did well in college.”
Is there any bigger mystery on this roster than Morgan?
Everyone on this side of the moon has cast him aside and there are two reasons for that:
- Draft status: Morgan was taken with the No. 125 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft.
- Here are some other players that were taken after the former FIU quarterback that the Jets could’ve selected instead: Gabe Davis (wide receiver, UCF), Tyler Biadasz (center, Wisconsin), and Alton Robinson (EDGE rusher, Syracuse).
- The Adam Gase factor. A lot of people have suggested that this pick was a “Gase pick” and everyone hates Gase so a+b=c they must hate Morgan.
Yet despite all the haters out there, Morgan has yet to take a single snap on the gridiron. Not in an NFL regular-season game nor in the preseason.
Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh have been hesitant about adding a veteran passer to the quarterback room.
“There’s a lot of reps to be had for them to see where they’re at because they deserve that opportunity to showcase who they are,” Saleh told reporters this past week.
That opportunity of course will be in the preseason. Last year Morgan didn’t get the chance to prove himself or rise up the rankings.
Now, this August he’ll have three chances to prove to the Jets that they don’t need a veteran quarterback.
In a perfect world, Morgan proves more than capable of becoming the long-term answer as the backup at the ripe age of 24. There is no one that’ll be rooting for that harder than Douglas who is the guy that turned that card in on draft day.
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