One of the Jets' needs heading into the offseason was a veteran quarterback to back up Aaron Rodgers and be ready to go if needed. And general manager Joe Douglas and his front office team snagged a tested vet by agreeing to terms with free agent Tyrod Taylor on Monday evening.
Taylor, entering his 14th NFL season, has made the rounds in his NFL career. He started out as the sixth-round pick (180th overall) out of Virginia Tech in the 2011 draft by Baltimore — when Douglas was still a Ravens scout. After four seasons as a backup to Joe Flacco, Taylor moved on to a three-year gig as Buffalo's starter, during which he threw 51 touchdown passes to 16 interceptions and made his only Pro Bowl after the 2015 season.
Then came stops with the Browns (2018), Chargers (2019-20), Texans (2021) and Giants (2022-23). For his career Taylor has played in 92 regular-season games with 58 starts, completed 61.7% of his passes for 12,135 yards, 65 TDs and 29 INTs, and posted a passer rating of 88.3.
Among the interesting aspects of Taylor's game, since 2011 he has a TD-to-INT ratio of 2.2-to-1, 20th-best among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,000 passes (Rodgers is No. 1 at 5.3-to-1). His 1.7% interception rate is No. 5 in that same span (with Rodgers again topping the list with a 1.2% rate). And Taylor has lost only six fumbles in his career, second-fewest among QBs with at least 1,000 attempts.
As for tucking the ball and running, the man sometimes called "T-Mobile" has rushed for 2,268 career yards at 5.6 yards/attempt. Next Gen Stats has charted his average speed while crossing the line of scrimmage with the ball on a rush at 13.83 mph, third fastest among qualifying QBs (Rodgers in this list comes in at No. 4 at 13.79 mph).
"My focus day in and day out was to prepare and stay ready for if my number was called to be out there, to be able to go out and execute at a high level," Taylor told SI.com late last season. "As a quarterback, you are literally one play away. Your preparation shouldn't change, your attitude shouldn't change.
"I try to stay as level as possible, through the highs and the lows. Life is a roller-coaster. How you endure the storms and how you endure the ups and downs I think speaks to your character."
