00:00Russell Wilson visiting the Jets?
00:03Does he make sense as a backup quarterback option for them?
00:05Well, we're going to get those answers from our Jets beat writer, Brian Costello,
00:08if you stick around for Gangs All Here.
00:18Let's get into it.
00:19Russell Wilson met with the Jets on Monday night,
00:21and we're going to determine and get the answers here, hopefully from Kaz,
00:25if that's maybe the potential backup quarterback for the Jets.
00:28So, Kaz, talk to us.
00:29Why Russell Wilson, and why did the Jets choose to meet with him after the draft?
00:34Yeah, I think, Ryan, we knew, you know,
00:36they were going to add a veteran quarterback at some point here.
00:38They can't really go into the season with Bailey Zappi, Brady Cook,
00:42and Clay Klubnick as the only backups to Geno Smith.
00:45So, they need somebody, you know, that has some experience.
00:48So, I think they were exploring the market in March.
00:52And if you look at it, the backup quarterback market hasn't moved all that much.
00:56There hasn't been a ton of signings and stuff.
00:58So, I think the Jets felt like they had time.
01:00They wanted to get through the draft and then kind of address it after the draft.
01:04And then, Ryan, when they signed Geno Smith, or they traded for it, I should say,
01:07Geno Smith in March and got him in the building,
01:10they were kind of talking to Geno about some of the options out there
01:13and who he might like to play with and who he thought would fit with him.
01:16And if you look back, Darren Mugia said several times it's important for them to tell who's going to fit
01:22in that room with the quarterback.
01:24And Geno Smith played with Russell Wilson in Seattle for two years, was his backup,
01:28and then replaced him when Russell was traded to Denver.
01:31So, I think Geno Smith spoke highly of him.
01:33And, you know, that kind of put it on the radar.
01:36And Darren Mugia was in Denver when Russell was there, so he knows him.
01:40And then they were just kind of waiting.
01:43I think Russell knew that they were waiting after the draft,
01:46and he lived in the area having just played for the Giants.
01:49So, they set up a meeting on Monday, and now we're going to see where it goes from there.
01:53Yeah, look, I think the real question, too, this cause is,
01:57if there's momentum here, do you see him ultimately ending up with the Jets before training camp?
02:04Yeah, I don't think it would be a training camp situation.
02:06I think we'll see something here shortly.
02:09You know, OTAs, true OTAs on the field start May 27th.
02:14So, I think you'd want him probably, you'd probably want him around this spring.
02:19He doesn't have a history with Frank Reich, so I think, you know,
02:22you'd want him to learn the offense.
02:25And I don't think it'd be a big deal for him because he lives in the area, right?
02:28Like, I think it'd probably be pretty easy for him to be in Florham Park
02:31and being attending the voluntary workouts.
02:34So, I think something will happen here in the next few weeks with, you know,
02:39with Russell Wilson or somebody else.
02:40So, I was reading your Sports Plus piece on NewYorkPost.com,
02:44which all you Jets fans should already be subscribed to.
02:46Get the latest insight from Kaz and reporting there.
02:49I'm fascinated in how they're building this quarterback room, right?
02:52It's a different approach a little bit here in terms of they're going with the heavy veteran approach,
02:57an established starter in Geno Smith.
02:59And now it seems like maybe Russell Wilson might be that backup piece.
03:02And they have the rookie they just drafted in Clay Kubnick.
03:05You have, obviously, Brady Cook.
03:07What do you take of this approach that they're going with the quarterback position?
03:10They went with Justin Fields, obviously, last year.
03:13They traded for him.
03:14Or, sorry, they signed him in free agency.
03:17And they paired him up with Tyrod Taylor.
03:20What do you make of this and their approach and what they're doing here this season?
03:25Yeah, I mean, this season has really taken a swing to see if they can get through 2026.
03:30And it's all about 2027, Ryan.
03:32I mean, we are – it's going to be a weird year.
03:35Yeah.
03:35Because I think everything is going to be through the lens of what's going to happen next year.
03:39And we haven't even gotten to May yet.
03:42We're talking about next year.
03:43But we – you know, with the three first-round picks, you feel like it's a pretty safe bet
03:48the Jets are going to draft a quarterback next year in the first round.
03:50And that's going to be the guy.
03:52So, I think it's all about getting everything in place for that.
03:55And so, you know, very interesting to me just the approach they've taken of building out
03:59the roster around the quarterback.
04:01And it feels like they're going to be in a better place when they draft a quarterback
04:04this time than when they drafted Zach Wilson or Sam Darnold.
04:07And the roster was kind of barren.
04:09But in terms of this year, I think it's just about, you know, maximizing this year.
04:15And, you know, Aaron Glenn has to win games.
04:17We can all talk about 2027.
04:19Aaron Glenn's not thinking about 2027.
04:21He needs to win in 2026.
04:24And Geno should give them an upgrade of quarterback from Fields.
04:27And, you know, we'll see how much of an upgrade.
04:30And, you know, you're always hoping your backups don't have to play.
04:34But they're going to have to get somebody in here who has some experience.
04:36Let's say if Russell Wilson does ultimately signing with the Jets,
04:39he becomes the backup quarterback for them.
04:42Looking at last year with the Giants, it was not pretty for Russ.
04:45You know, they moved pretty quickly off Russ into the Jackson Dart, Jameis Winston boat over there
04:51and moving it on to the future, obviously.
04:54For Russ, you know, he was 0-3 in his three starts.
04:57He had a completion percentage, 58%.
04:59Three touchdowns, three interceptions.
05:01He had the one big game against the Cowboys, who obviously did not have a good defense last year.
05:06Do you think there's anything left in the tank for Russ, even as a backup quarterback,
05:09to be viable for the Jets here?
05:12Yeah.
05:13I don't think there's anything left in terms of being a starter, Ryan.
05:16But a backup, yeah.
05:18Like, here's the hard thing with the backup quarterback is you just don't know how much they're going to have
05:22to play.
05:23And I know, like, when Aaron Rodgers went down in 2023 and Zach Wilson had to play,
05:29it was like, oh, my God.
05:30Yeah.
05:31What were they doing?
05:32This was a terrible plan.
05:33Now, Zach Wilson's a backup quarterback.
05:34I'm like, well, Zach won some games.
05:37The problem was you have 16 games to go.
05:41So, like, yeah, if Russell Wilson has to be the quarterback for 16 games, you're screwed.
05:46That's not going to work.
05:47If Russell Wilson has to get you through two or three games, I think he can do that.
05:51I think he'd be okay.
05:52I think he can make it competitive and give you a chance to win.
05:56But this is always – it's always sticky with a backup quarterback.
05:59Like I said, the ideal is he plays zero games.
06:02Right.
06:03And every number above zero, the risk increases.
06:08And, you know, I heard from somebody who was like, ah, they shouldn't go to the veteran quarterback.
06:12They should have somebody with some upside.
06:14I'm like, who is that?
06:15Who's that person?
06:16Because anyone who's a backup quarterback, they've probably failed as a starter and never been a starter.
06:23And there are many good backup quarterbacks out there.
06:26And sometimes you get lucky and, you know, Green Bay and Malik Willis, and that worked out well for them.
06:31But, you know, there's not a lot of those guys out there.
06:34No.
06:34And there's a reason they're backup, right?
06:36I mean, obviously, someone like Tyson Bajant from Chicago is someone I think about.
06:41But the Bears were holding on to him for a high price like you had talked about.
06:44They're not giving him up.
06:44They're not giving him up for nothing.
06:46And the Jets, I think, wouldn't want to be giving up 2027 assets, especially with a class that is being
06:52touted as a very strong draft class for next year.
06:57I think what's interesting about with Russ, right, like the leadership is one thing, but also at the same time,
07:04I think you would have to rely on him to give you a couple starts no matter what.
07:08Because Geno has battled some injuries the last couple years with the knee.
07:12I know he's had a barky knee a couple games in the last couple seasons.
07:17I just think it would give him a much more established approach, I think, right, in that quarterback room in
07:22terms of Tyrod.
07:24I don't know if he has much left in the tank.
07:26I know we liked some moments he had, but he just didn't have that pop-off game that you were
07:30hoping for, Kaz, as a backup quarterback.
07:33Tyrod can't stay healthy.
07:34That's the other thing, too, right?
07:36Like, he can't stay healthy.
07:37And that's a bad attribute for a backup quarterback, right?
07:40Because you kind of need that.
07:42Because when you were the third quarterback, now we're talking about really rough times, right?
07:47So, like, you want your backup quarterback to be available.
07:50And I don't think, I think, you know, he talked about the Geno's knee.
07:52And Tyrod's knee was, he needed surgery before the season last year.
07:56And then he was just never, you know, I don't think he fully recovered from that knee.
07:59And he's older.
08:00So, I think Tyrod probably isn't a great option for them because of that.
08:05But, yeah, I think Russ is interesting in terms of another veteran presence, too.
08:12He brings some veteran leadership on the offensive side.
08:15We talked about that a lot on the defensive side with what they did this offseason.
08:18But another veteran voice in the offensive room would be good.
08:21I 100% agree.
08:23And it would just, with someone like Kade Klubnik, I just don't know if he's ready to be in that
08:28spot, right?
08:29To just step in and just be the backup to Geno.
08:32And it would just bump him down a little bit to learn behind both of those guys in this offense.
08:37Look, Kaz, it's definitely grabbed a lot of Jets fans' attention last night when it all came to fruition.
08:42Like, oh, my God, Russell Wilson's in the building.
08:44We'll see what happens over the next couple days.
08:46We're looking forward to your coverage and your reporting on when Russ ultimately makes the decision whether or not he
08:51will be with the Jets this upcoming season.
08:53But we appreciate you hopping on and giving us some of your insight, man.
08:56All right, Ryan.
08:57Thanks for having me.
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