The New York Jets, set to move on from Zach Wilson as their backup quarterback, agreed to a contract with free agent QB Tyrod Taylor, multiple media outlets reported late Monday night.
According to NFL.com, Taylor’s deal is for two years and up to $18 million.
Taylor, 34, began his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, and he subsequently has started games for the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and New York Giants. He has a career 28-28-1 record as a starter, and he was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2015 season.
In 92 career games, Taylor has thrown for 12,135 yards and 65 touchdowns with 29 interceptions. He has a 61.7 percent completion rate.
Last season for the Giants, he appeared in 11 games and went 2-3 as a starter. Taylor connected on 64.4 percent of his passes for 1,341 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Aaron Rodgers is expected to return as the Jets’ starting quarterback after his first season with the team ended with a torn left Achilles tendon in the opener.
Wilson wound up leading the Jets to an upset win over the Buffalo Bills on the night when Rodgers got hurt, and he went 4-7 as a starter last season before losing the job. The team used two other quarterbacks late in the campaign, with Trevor Siemian going 2-1 as a starter and Tim Boyle going 0-2.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas announced last month that the team gave Wilson permission to seek a trade.
According to ESPN, the Jets also agreed to free-agent deals with ex-Baltimore Ravens guard John Simpson and ex-San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.
Simpson, 26, started all 17 games last season, his lone campaign with Baltimore. He spent the previous three seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, making 35 appearances and 21 starts.
Kinlaw, 26, appeared in every game for the 49ers last season — including the postseason and the Super Bowl — and started six times. He had a career-high 3.5 sacks and added 25 tackles and three passes defensed.
–Field Level Media
