Oregon quarterback Dante Moore rejected the chance to be drafted by the New York Jets to return to school.
Now the team is left searching for answers at the game’s most important position.
“This has massive ramifications for the Jets. We know this team needs a quarterback, that is not Justin Fields, who was a disaster last year, and there is no other player on the roster with legitimate franchise potential. So Moore, had he declared, was almost assuredly going to be the No. 2 overall selection to New York. He might have sat the whole year, but he was going to be the player that the Jets hitched their wagon to as their next franchise quarterback,” NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY explained.
“With Moore not there in the class, there really isn’t another player after Fernando Mendoza who is going to go No. 1 overall to the Raiders, who has that same franchise potential. Ty Simpson — there is attributes that you like there, but he is probably more of a day two draft pick. There is really no one else after Simpson worthy of that kind of selection. So the Jets are now going to have to go to Plan B. I fully expect them to try and look at a veteran on the trade market. Whether that is Mac Jones or Kyler Murray,” Hughes said.
How will Dante Moore returning to college
The Veteran QB Trade Market
Two of the alternative plans for the Jets would include exploring the trade market.
Jones, 27, is under contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2026. He has a $3.98 million cap hit for next season, per Spotrac.
The former Alabama quarterback has a 25-32 record as a starting quarterback. As a rookie with the New England Patriots, Jones showed flashes of being a quarterback who would be around for a long time.
However, everything fell off a cliff after that season. Jones became a backup, got traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars to be a QB2, and then he joined the 49ers this past offseason.
This 2025 season went a long way toward rebuilding his image as a potential starting quarterback in the league. Brock Purdy was forced to miss a lot of time due to injury, and Jones thrived in spot duty.
Jones completed 69.6% of his passes, threw for 2,151 passing yards, and had a 13 touchdown to six interception ratio. He appeared in 11 games and made eight starts.
The Jets will likely have to pay a premium price to pry him from the bay. San Francisco doesn’t have to trade him unless they receive a compelling offer. With so few solid QBs available, a lot of teams will likely be interested in his services, which also increases his trade value.
That could require the Jets to shell out a day two selection, which feels exorbitant.
Honestly the Jets Had to Probably Go Down This Path Anyway
While the Moore news is certainly disappointing for the Jets, it shouldn’t affect the 2026 QB1 plans.
Moore was always viewed as a project that required more time to develop on the bench. That means if the Jets had selected the Oregon QB with the No. 2 overall pick, they would have still required a veteran starter in 2026.
So this potential Mac or Kyler conversation still would have transpired this offseason. What they need to shift to is the “Plan B” at QB for the long-term. Is that a developmental prospect in the middle of the class? Is that punting on that until 2027? Those questions remain unanswered.
Insider Reveals Jets’ ‘Plan B’ at QB After Dante Moore Spurns Team