The New York Jets have a shot at a potential reunion this offseason.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic mentioned quarterback Mike White as a possible option for the team to consider this offseason.
“He has only thrown 17 passes since leaving the Jets as a free agent after the 2022 season. Many of his old teammates are gone at this point, but an important one (Garrett Wilson) loved White, and he is still around. Maybe White isn’t a QB2 at this point, but the Jets could do worse than him for training camp competition and the practice squad,” Rosenblatt wrote.
You Just Had to Be There
White, 31, is currently a free agent.
He initially entered the league as the No. 171 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft. White was with the Dallas Cowboys for a year. In September of 2019, he signed with the Jets on their practice squad.
White ended up spending the next four seasons with the green and white. He started on the practice squad, then eventually got onto the roster, and then somehow made it into the starting lineup.
Across his four years with the team, White appeared in eight games and made seven starts. With those opportunities, White completed 62.2% of his passes, threw for 2,145 passing yards, and had a eight touchdown to 12 interception ratio. He had a 2-5 record as a starting quarterback.
While the overall numbers are underwhelming, White had these moments with the team that made him a fan favorite.
For example, White made the first start of his NFL career for the Jets in October of 2021 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns, caught a 2-point conversion pass on the go-ahead score, and joined Cam Newton (2011) as the only players since at least 1950 to throw for 400 or more yards in their first career start,” according to the Associated Press.
Traveling Around the League
There were a few flashes in the pan, but White moved on during the 2023 offseason.
Since 2023, White has played for four NFL teams:
- Miami Dolphins
- Buffalo Bills
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Carolina Panthers
The allure of White is two-fold. He is available, so the only thing the Jets would have to give up is money. It would probably be nothing more than the veteran minimum as a training camp body with a shot at making the roster as either the backup to Geno Smith or competition to push Cade Klubnik at QB3.
White’s superpower is his ordinariness, if that makes sense. He won’t wow you with physical traits or really anything in particular. He thrived on simply operating the offense and moving the ball, and getting the ball where it needed to go.
It sounds simple, but that is all a backup quarterback is supposed to do.
It’s unclear if White still has those abilities that he showed a few years ago with the Jets, but what do they have to lose by bringing him in? If White clearly doesn’t have those abilities anymore, you can move on during training camp.
Jets Could Reunite With Fan Favorite QB in Free Agency