Former Giants QB Taylor signed to back up Rodgers
The Jets landed their veteran backup quarterback for Aaron Rodgers and they reached across town to do it.
The team agreed to a deal with Tyrod Taylor late Monday night, according to a source. Taylor spent the past two seasons with the Giants, backing up Daniel Jones. Taylor is a 13-year veteran who has started 58 games and played in 92. He turns 35 in August. He has pri- marily been a backup since 2018. The knock on Taylor has been injuries. He suffered a concussion with the Giants in 2022 and had fractured ribs last sea- son, an injury he suffered against the Jets.
Finding a reliable backup for Rodgers was a priority for the Jets this offseason. Many felt the Jets season was sunk last year because they did not have an adequate backup after Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon in Week 1. The Jets had Zach Wilson backing up Rodgers and he struggled, eventually getting benched in favor of Tim Boyle.
The Jets will be Taylor’s seventh NFL team. He began his career with the Ravens where Jets general manager Joe Douglas was a scout at the time they drafted Taylor in the sixth round out of Virginia Tech. Taylor served as a backup to Joe Flacco for four seasons with the Ravens.
Taylor became a starter with the Bills in 2015 under former Jets coach
Rex Ryan.
He started in Buffalo for three seasons before going to the Browns where he began the season as the starter before getting knocked out of a game against the Jets and being replaced by rookie Baker Mayfield. Taylor went to the Chargers in 2019 and backed up Philip Rivers for a year before beginning the 2020 season as their starter. He suffered a freak injury in Week 2 when the Chargers’ team doctor accidentally punctured Taylor’s lung while giving Taylor a painkilling shot before a game. That cleared the way for Justin Herbert to start. In 2021, Taylor went to the Texans and was the starter to begin the season but a hamstring injury opened the door for Davis Mills and he took the starting job. That led to Taylor signing with the Giants in 2022. He replaced Jones against the Bears in Week 4 of that season after Jones sprained his ankle. But Taylor suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter, his fourth concussion in five years. Last season, he started five games for the Giants, going 2-3. He threw for five touchdowns, three interceptions and 1,341 yards.
Wilson remains under contract with the Jets, but they are trying to trade him. They likely will add a third quarterback either in the draft or by signing an undrafted free agent.
The Jets drew heavy criticism for having Wilson as their backup last season. They did not sign anyone to challenge him as the backup in the offseason and then waited after Rodgers went down to sign anyone. They signed Trevor Siemian three weeks into the season but continued to play Wilson into November before shifting to Boyle and then going back to Wilson after two games. Siemian ended up starting the final three games after Wilson suffered a concussion.