5 backup quarterbacks Jets should target in free agency

The Jets need a better backup behind Sam Darnold in 2020. Here’s a look at some available options.

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Blaine Gabbert

Gabbert is a good mix of experience, youth and ability that the Jets could use behind Darnold. He’s started 48 games in eight seasons, recently turned 30 years old and has almost 15,000 passing attempts to his name for 9,063 yards. Gabbert isn’t a good quarterback – he’s only completed 56.2 percent of his passes and has 47 interceptions to his name – but he’s cheap and can play better than his stats give him credit for.

There hasn’t been much expectation for Gabbert since the Jaguars let him go in 2013, but he’s performed admirably since then. His completion percentage rose to 59 percent between his stints in San Francisco, Arizona and Tennessee and he’s been able to lead multiple teams. Gabbert isn’t going to win games for the Jets, but he might not lose them if he needed to start.