Sam Darnold is the future of the Jets franchise, but for two years the team has not employed a backup quarterback capable of leading the team in Darnold’s absence. That needs to change this offseason after Darnold missed three games with mono a year after missing another three games with a foot injury. The Jets went 0-6 during those games without Darnold, and Joe Douglas should invest more money in the position as he begins to explore free agency.

There are some good options in free agency for Douglas to look at and bring in behind Darnold. They’ll look at quarterbacks with a good mix of experience, age and production that won’t cost more than $5 million against the cap in 2020. Yes, that’s a lot of money to pay a backup, but considering how poorly the likes of Luke Falk and David Fales played in 2019, it’s worth it.

Here are five backup quarterbacks the Jets should look at in free agency.

Case Keenum

Keenum should be No. 1 on the Jets’ backup quarterback radar. He’s experienced and productive enough to play in a pinch, but not a real threat to Darnold’s job and not so old that he couldn’t run an offense. Keenum, who recently turned 32, has 62 starts for six different teams in nine seasons and even lead the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship game in 2017. During his career, he’s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 14,368 yards and 75 touchdowns – including two 3,000-yard passing seasons as a full-time starter for the Vikings and Broncos from 2017-18.

The Redskins gave Keenum a one-year, $3.5 million deal in 2019; he’d likely command a similar contract this offseason. While not too expensive, that’s still $650,000 more than what the Jets gave Trevor Siemian and David Fales combined this past season.