Jets Dump QB Days After Signing, Replace Him With MVP Passer

The New York Jets are making a very quick pivot at the quarterback position.

Mere days after signing Ben Bryant the green and white are just as quickly moving on. The team announced on Saturday, July 27 that they had cut ties with Bryant to make room for Adrian Martinez.

Gang Green also announced that they made a change to the defensive backfield. New York signed cornerback Kendall Sheffield after moving on from cornerback Nehemiah Shelton.

Martinez was most recently with the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League. In its inaugural season, Martinez was named the league MVP, a member of the All-UFL team, and the MVP of the championship game this summer.

He threw for 1,749 passing yards, had 15 passing touchdowns, and led the league in rushing with 528 yards, according to the Jets press release.

Jets Land a Much Bigger Name at QB

New York used the roster spot that was created by placing Haason Reddick on the reserve/did not report list to sign Bryant.

Bryant by all accounts was a nondescript quarterback addition. Nothing really sexy about it, but an important arm for training camp and the upcoming preseason games.

The Jets boast the oldest quarterback room in the league. Aaron Rodgers will be 41 years of age in December and Tyrod Taylor turns 35 in August. General manager Joe Douglas and the Jets’ coaching staff are going to have to take some extra TLC with this group in terms of managing their reps because of the age factor.

Rookie Jordan Travis is on the NFI list because of the serious leg fracture he suffered during his final season with Florida State. Head coach Robert Saleh revealed this week that the rehab from that injury is going to take longer than they intended which forced the need for another quarterback on the roster.

With Bryant out and Martinez in, the Jets have increased not only the name recognition with the quarterback swap but also the talent level.

Martinez Can Be the Jets’ Version of Chris Streveler in 2024

The former Nebraska product went undrafted in 2023 but spent that entire offseason with the Detroit Lions.

A few months later he jumped from the NFL to the UFL (United Football League) joining the Birmingham Stallions.

In his very first season in the UFL, “Martinez was responsible for 18 touchdowns (15 passing, 3 rushing), which tied for most in the UFL. Martinez was the only UFL quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards twice during the UFL regular season, putting up a UFL-best 369 yards at Memphis on May 4 after throwing for 334 against the Showboats on April 13,” the UFL revealed in a press release. “His 138-yard rushing performance against Houston on April 27 was the second-best in the UFL during the regular season. It was one of only seven 100-yard rushing performances of the entire UFL regular season.”

This will be Martinez’ second shot at the NFL level. With the Jets, he will have a legitimate path to claiming the QB3 role which could very well include a spot on the 53-man roster. With so many questions about the other depth guys, Martinez will have a chance to make some noise in training camp and the preseason.

At the collegiate level, Martinez, 24, threw for 9,752 passing yards, had a 51 touchdown to 31 interception ratio, and completed 63.6% of his passes.

Coming out he was labeled a “dual threat” guy by NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein.

On the ground in college, he registered 2,928 rushing yards, scored 45 touchdowns, and averaged 4.7 yards per clip.