Tyrod Taylor hasn't thought about it yet.
His opportunity to start next season as the Jets' starting quarterback will depend on the new general manager's decision with Aaron Rodgers and the upcoming NFL Draft. At least for now, everything is starting to fall into place for Taylor, who turns 36 in August, to enter 2025 with a chance to start his first Week 1 game since 2021.
He won't care about that until the Jets' disastrous campaign ends next month.
But with Rodgers and the Jets potentially divorcing and Taylor set to make $6 million next season in the final year of his contract, he could be Gang Green's go-between with an unknown signal-caller. He has emerged as the most likely candidate within the company. future.
It's also a role he played early in his career.
For now, Taylor won't start any of the Jets' remaining five games as Rodgers has been injured for seven weeks this season and on the injury report, as the veteran quarterback has always been his backup. We are trying to be prepared in case the situation arises.
“I haven't really thought about that yet,” Taylor told the Post on Thursday. “I'm a big believer in being where I'm supposed to be, and for me it's about finishing this season strong and being ready if the opportunity presents itself. Even if it doesn't, it's about Aaron. Being able to lead and support and support the team and support the wide receiver group and all the groups on this team.”
“And once the season is over, I'm going to focus on next year.”
The concept of a bridge quarterback isn't new to Taylor. After three years as the Bills' starter from 2015 to 2017, Taylor was traded to the Browns a month before they took him No. 1 overall from Baker Mayfield.
He started the first three games of 2018, and while he didn't see himself as Cleveland's patchwork solution, he told reporters that year, “Hopefully, I can lead this team to the Super Bowl. I want to help build a bridge to that.'' — Until Mayfield improved, three injuries in one week snowballed into a demotion.
And after a year as a backup to Philip Rivers in 2019, Taylor established himself as the Chargers' bridge quarterback when they took Justin Herbert sixth overall.
Taylor started in Week 1 that year as well. However, because doctors in Los Angeles punctured his lung while treating a rib injury prior to Game 2 of that year, Taylor only played one more snap for the rest of the season before Herbert became the starter.
Since then, his football career has been filled with a six-game cameo as the Texans' starter in 2021, the year before they drafted C.J. Stroud, and three tumultuous years with the Giants and Jets.
The Big Blue Dysfunction in 2023 will be replaced by the Gang Green Dysfunction in 2024.
Owner Woody Johnson reportedly wanted to bench Rodgers and pivot to Taylor after the Week 4 loss to the Broncos, but that didn't happen. The Jets have stuck with Rodgers, for better or worse.
Even before Bridges' quarterback tweets resurfaced in the offseason, Taylor could end up playing for the Jets.
Rodgers reiterated his desire to finish the regular season again this week, and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich (who left open the possibility of a temporary change after Sunday's loss to the Seahawks) announced that the 41-year-old Rodgers is the starter. He said he would continue. But Taylor knows it only takes one more injury to change that outlook.
That's life as a backup in the NFL.
“My mindset since I was drafted 14 years ago is to go into the building every day and prepare like a starting pitcher,” Taylor said. “…You don’t want to have an opportunity and not take advantage of it.”
Despite mounting evidence, statistics and trends suggesting Rodgers' career has spiraled out of control, Taylor still believes in Rodgers.
Taylor has never seen anyone “spin” like Rodgers, he says. He admired Rodgers early in his career, and that hasn't wavered.
Still, he would “definitely” welcome the chance to start full-time again as he plans the rest of his NFL career.
“Of course I want to play,” he said, “and I'm always available.” He will continue to work on his craft, continue to rely on the one-day-by-day mentality that has served him well since being a sixth-round pick in 2011, and continue to focus on how he can contribute in his current role. . backup.
And depending on how the dominoes fall over the next five months, that opportunity might eventually happen to the Jets.
