The Jets wrapped up the season with a rather unclear quarterback situation. Justin Fields didn’t pan out as they had hoped, Tyrod Taylor is still grappling with injuries, and undrafted free agent Brady Cook just isn’t ready to step in yet.
On Monday, the team decided to sign Bailey Zappe to a futures contract.
However, considering Zappe’s performance in the NFL so far, it’s hard to view this move as a solution for any long-term plans at quarterback.
At 26, Zappe has played in 15 games across three seasons, managing a 4-5 record as a starter with a completion rate of 62.1%. He has thrown 12 touchdowns, but also 14 interceptions.
In his rookie year with the Patriots in 2022, he went 2-0, completing 70.7% of his passes for 781 yards, with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. However, in 2023, he ended up with a 2-4 record, delivering 6 touchdowns against 9 interceptions and completing 59.9% of his throws.
Last season, while with the Browns, he started one game but ended up losing, completing just 51.6% of his passes for 170 yards, scoring one touchdown and two interceptions.
Signing Zappe to a one-year non-guaranteed futures deal allows the Jets to bring another quarterback into the mix for next season’s offseason workouts without affecting the 2026 salary cap.
Generally, players on futures contracts come on board at the season’s end, giving them a chance to join minicamps or training camps the following year.
As for Fields, he’s still under contract, yet it appears highly likely he won’t stay with the team next season, particularly after a dismal 2-7 record in nine starts.
Cook, also still on the books, struggled during the final four games, recording an 0-4 finish with just 2 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Taylor, now a free agent, seems unlikely to return in 2026.
In addition to Zappe, the Jets have also signed kicker Lenny Krieg and Mac Dalena, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound receiver who was an undrafted free agent previously with the Chiefs last season.
Dalena was on the Seahawks’ practice squad last November, while Krieg, a German native, spent the 2025 season with the Falcons’ practice squad within the International Pathway Program.
