What's Next for Kellen Clemens?

As you should already know, the Jets have finally signed veteran QB Mark Brunell, and to a two-year contract. The Jets already have four quarterbacks under contract, now five if you include Brunell. Kellen Clemens, Erik Ainge, and Kevin O'Connell are all on the brink of being cut, traded, or waived. However, Ainge andO'Connell are much more expendable than Clemens for many reasons, skill kind of being the most important reason. Many are speculating that Kellen won't be a Jet much longer; if so, what's next for the ex-future of the Jets?

Now that Mark Brunell is an official member of the New York Jets, the Jets have 5 QBson their depth chart and are most likely looking to drop one or two of those QBs. Mark Sanchez, obviously, will be the starter, and Brunell will be the Sanchise's mentor as well as the veteran back-up. The number three QB job would be awarded to Clemens, if he stays. And after that, who really cares who wins the 4th spot, but those two QBs are vying for a job.

Clemens used to be considered the future of the franchise when Chad Pennington was handing over the job. However, after a mediocre season as a starter in 2007, the Jets went out and traded for some guy named Brett Favre. And after Favre's up and down year, Clemens was thought to have been mentored by Favre and was ready to take the reigns as QB for the Jets... That is untill the Jets traded up for the 5th overall pick in the 2009 draft and selected then USC QB Mark Sanchez. Once Sanchez won the job during the pre-season, Clemens future as a Jet looked to be short. During this past off-season, Clemens signed his one-year tender, making this his last year under contract as a Jet. The question is, do we move him before then?

Option one would be to let him be the 3rd string QB for this year, and let him walk after this year. The upside to this would be having a solid back-up QB on the roster because if Sanchez goes down, Brunell, 39, isn't exactly the most reliable option, health-wise. Of course, if we kept Kellen, O'Connell or Ainge would have to go, but that's not a real problem at all for the front office.

Option two would be to place him on the trade block. Since this is now a passing league, the Jets could ask more for him, such as a 3rd round pick or another player the Jets could use. Teams like the Bills, Jaguars, Vikings, Cardinals, and maybe even Seahawks could be looking for a QB for now or the future for thier team. The Jets could get a decent return from these teams, and a 4th or a 3rd or even a 2nd round pick back in return for Kellen would be a great exchange for the Jets.

Another possibility would be to simple release him. There's really no upside here, other than making room for another player on the 53-man roster. Right now, there is no reason to have five QBs on a 53-man roster, so it'd be wise for the Jets to move at least one of the three (Clemens, Ainge, or O'Connell).

Kellen has represented the Jets the well so far in his young career, but it is a fact that he would like a shot at a starting job, which is not here. It would probably be best if both the Jets and Clemens went their separate ways, preferably via trade. I highly doubt he'll be a Jet by the end of the season, let alone after that. There are many choices the Jets have to make this off-season; the future of Kellen Clemens could very well be one.