Jets' Top NFL Draft, Free-Agent QB Options After Aaron Rodgers' Exit in 2025

It is officially time for Aaron Rodgers to start looking for his next destination and the New York Jets to start looking for their next quarterback.

The Jets announced Thursday they met with the future Hall of Famer and informed him they will not bring him back for the 2025 campaign.

"It was important to have this discussion now to provide clarity and enable each of us the proper time to plan for our respective futures," head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey said in a statement released by the team. "We want to thank him for the leadership, passion, and dedication he brought to the organization and wish him success moving forward."

So where will moving forward bring the Jets?

Here is a look at some of the AFC East team's top quarterback options in free agency and the NFL draft as it turns its attention to an important offseason.

The Jets have the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, which will make it difficult to land Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders.

After all, the Tennessee Titans (No. 1), Cleveland Browns (No. 2), New York Giants (No. 3) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 6) all need long-term stability at quarterback and select ahead of New York. B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected the Titans to select Ward and the Giants to select Sanders in its latest mock draft.

Rather than force the issue at No. 7, the Jets can address another position and then look to land one of the best secondary options behind the top two quarterbacks early in the second round.

Enter Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart.

Dart turned heads at the Senior Bowl with Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports saying: "There's no doubt Dart had the best week among the QBs here in Mobile, and his arm strength is better in person than on tape. And he's gone a long way in solidifying himself as QB3, at least with some 80 days until the actual draft."

What's more, ESPN's Rich Cimini noted Dart "intrigues the Jets."

The Ole Miss product showed the ability to make plays with his arms and legs in his final collegiate season while completing 69.3 percent of his passes for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions and adding 495 yards and three scores on the ground.

New York could look to add a veteran as a bridge quarterback and then eventually turn the offense over to Dart when he's ready to take over.

If the Jets want to look for untapped potential that could be ready to finally take off with a change of scenery, they could do much worse than Justin Fields.

Fields never quite lived up to expectations as a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears, but he is still just 25 years old and coming off a solid showing in limited time with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.

He went 4-2 as a starter and avoided some of the mistakes he made in Chicago while completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception to go with 289 yards and five scores on the ground. 

Fields' running ability has never been in question, as evidenced by the 1,143 yards and eight scores he accumulated on the ground in 2022, and it would add another element to the New York offense.

There is also plenty of familiarity in place with one of New York's top wide receivers, as Fields and Garrett Wilson played together for two seasons at Ohio State before entering the NFL. That type of ready-made chemistry isn't always available when bringing in a new quarterback, and it could help minimize early growing pains in 2025.

Former first-round draft picks such as Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield have recently resurrected their careers with changes of scenery, and Fields could do the same in New York.

If New York does want a veteran who could be a bridge quarterback before the next face of the franchise eventually takes over, Kirk Cousins could be an option.

The Atlanta Falcons benched Cousins last season and tied their future to Michael Penix Jr., so the veteran figures to be available this offseason. And he will be a full season removed from the Achilles injury he suffered in 2023 and could be more confident heading into the 2025 campaign as a result.

A version of Cousins that trusts himself more to plant his foot and drive the ball downfield will be better than the one that threw 16 interceptions in 2024.

After all, he is still a four-time Pro Bowler with seven seasons of more than 4,000 passing yards on his resume. He also has a connection with the Jets, as former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman now works with the AFC East team.

"Cousins is an interesting possibility because his former Vikings GM, Rick Spielman, is now the Jets' senior football adviser," Cimini wrote. "He'd be cost-effective. The Falcons are on the hook for his $27.5 million base salary (guaranteed), so the Jets would have to pay only the veterans minimum, roughly $1.2 million."

With surrounding talent already in place in New York, Cousins could make the team a playoff contender next season.