Getty Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum on the sideline during an NFL game.
It might be time for the New York Jets to go all in at the quarterback position.
On the Flight Deck Podcast Rich Cimini and former NFL general manager, Mike Tannenbaum was discussing the future of Jets quarterback Mike White. He is scheduled to be a free agent and Cimini asked the ex-NFL decision-maker what could a contract look like.
“I would try to keep Mike White because I think depth at that position is really important. In terms of money, it’s probably somewhere in the mid-teens. I think [White] is going to have a pretty decent market.”
Cimini then responded, “so if you were the Jets you’d try to get him done in the mid-teens so let’s say a three-year deal for $45 million.”
Mike Tannenbaum Predicts a Robust Market for Jets QB Mike White
“If I’m Mike White a third of the league is going to need a quarterback next year,” Mike Tannenbaum argued on the Flight Deck Podcast. “That includes some non-obvious teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Green Bay Packers, and of course, you get into teams like Houston, Indianapolis, and the Saints. There are going to be so many.”
The 2022 season has been a roller coaster ride for the green and white. Throughout the first 15 games, the Jets have used four different quarterbacks at different portions of the year.
Next season the only quarterback under contract is Zach Wilson.
He is coming off a rough performance versus the Jacksonville Jaguars and halfway through the game he was benched (or replaced, whatever terminology head coach Robert Saleh prefers).
If you believe that player is a key piece of your team you don’t bench him or swap him out in the most important game of your season. Yet that is exactly what the Jets did on Thursday Night Football.
It very well may be the end of the road for Wilson which means this team is going to have to make a move at the quarterback position this offseason.
A Complicated Mike White-Jets Negotiation
The one that makes the most sense is retaining White on a new contract. It is a complicated negotiation because from now until the new league year kicks off the Jets will be bidding against themselves.
Who knows what White could command on the open market? If you’re on the Jets’ side of things, do you even want to find out?
Quarterback is an incredibly scarce position and as Tannebaum indicated earlier there are going to be a lot more teams in the mix than you think.
Hopefully, the Jets can try to use loyalty and the fact that they gave White his first real chance in the pros as part of the negotiating tactics. By all accounts, he seems to really enjoy it here in New York but money can often sing a different tune.
The one overwhelming concern about doing a deal like this is the limited sample size. White was on and off in 2021 and in 2022 he once again has been injured.
Does he have legitimate durability concerns? Are these injuries over the last two years a series of unfortunate events and in all actuality, he is a healthy player that just had some bad luck?
It is impossible to know for sure but that will certainly add another wrinkle to this upcoming offseason.