Jets Urged To Trade For 'Low-Risk, High-Reward' Titans QB To Back Up Justin Fields

The New York Jets are set to roll with Justin Fields as their starting quarterback, and it looks like they're satisfied with the depth chart behind him as well.

In Tyrod Taylor, the Jets have a 35-year-old backup with 94 NFL games under his belt. He's not going to win many games with his arm talent, but New York would seemingly trust him to run the offense in an emergency without making a littany of mistakes.

One NFL writer thinks that's the wrong approach for the Jets to take to the backup role. Instead, he believes the Jets should bring in a young QB who's got superior physical tools, but the capability to make lots of mistakes.

On Tuesday, The Draft Network's Justin Melo named the Jets as a prospective trade suitor for Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis, a 2023 second-round pick who started 21 games in his first two years in the NFL. Tennessee selected former Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the number-one pick in the 2025 draft.

"First-year GM Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn are more focused on establishing leadership and culture than winning games in 2025. Veteran journeyman Justin Fields was signed to a bridge contract to be the starting quarterback," Melo wrote.

At some point, Mougey and Glenn must take a chance on a young quarterback. They didn't draft one, instead placing Tyrod Taylor in the backup role. Taking a low-risk, high-reward chance on a QB with Levis' physical tools would be worthwhile for a franchise that eventually needs to invest in a young signal caller. It'd be worth trying to develop Levis into a quality starter."

Levis, 25, has a 61 percent career completion rate, 3,899 passing yards (7.0 yards per attempt), 21 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. The Titans went 5-16 in games he started, including a 2-10 mark this past season.

There's been no report that the Jets are showing interest in Levis, so Melo is speaking purely from a hypothetical standpoint. And reasonable minds could disagree as to whether bringing in Levis, presumably for a late-round pick in return, would pay any dividends.

Ideally, Fields stays healthy, is productive, and the Jets never have to think twice about the backup role. But given that the fifth-year signal-caller has never started more than 15 games in a season, the Jets certainly have to feel confident that their backup can step in.