Jake The Jet?

The Tennessee Titans come into Sunday's game against the Jets with Jake Locker starting at quarterback.  Locker is only starting because rookie Zach Mettenberger is out with an injury.  Mettenberger, a 2014 sixth round draft choice, beat out Locker earlier in the year for the starting job, and it appears very likely the Titans will not re-sign Jake Locker this offseason, when he is slated to become a free agent.  Could this game be an audition for Locker to become an option at starting quarterback for the 2015 NY Jets?

I know, I know, yuck.  Locker had four years in Tennessee to state his case and never really secured the starting position.  Part of that was due to multiple injuries, part was due to uninspired play, but Locker was never quite good enough to win the job permanently in Tennessee, and he was beaten out this year by an unheralded sixth round draft choice rookie quarterback.  So if Locker isn't good enough for Tennessee, why should the Jets want him?

There are actually a few good reasons.  First, as mediocre as Locker has been, he has been better statistically than any Jets quarterback in the last six years, and he has been better than Geno Smith by a wide margin.  Second, the Jets will likely move on from Michael Vick, meaning they will need another quarterback on the roster, preferably a veteran.  Third, there just aren't very many good choices available in the free agent market.  Fourth, of the available choices, Locker probably has more upside than almost all of them.  If the Jets choose to move on from Michael Vick and/or Geno Smith, they could do worse than Jake Locker as a replacement.

Listed below are the best (I use that term loosely, by necessity) of the current free agent quarterback options for 2015.  There are of course other possibilities, like perhaps Robert Griffin III, if the Redskins choose to cut or trade him, but these are the most palatable options slated for free agency in 2015.  It is not an inspiring group, but the best of these players still represent an upgrade, in some cases a substantial upgrade, over the level of play the Jets have seen over the last six years.

Shaun Hill and Austin Davis have better numbers than Locker, but Hill will turn 35 years old in January and hasn't started more than six games in a season since 2010.  Hill is probably past his due date.  Austin Davis has only played in nine games his entire career, all in 2014, and after getting off to a hot start, he really fell hard back to earth, throwing for a 75 QB rating or lower in four of his last five starts.  With such a small sample size and such a hard fall I'd be very wary of counting on Davis.  The Rams also may well wish to re-sign Davis in the offseason.  Jason Campbell has slightly better passing numbers than Locker, but he'll turn 34 by the end of the 2015 season, he hasn't been a full time starter since 2010, and he hasn't had better than a 76 QB rating since 2011.  There's no upside with Campbell, but the Jets could do worse.  Of the remaining options, Locker is as good or better than any of them, has as much upside as any of them, has the 2nd highest QB rating, the highest yards per attempt, and the best TD to INT ratio, and Locker runs the ball much, much better than any of them.  As much as you may consider Locker and say to yourself, I'll pass, he may well be the best Jets option at quarterback in 2015. So as you watch Sunday's game, you might want to pay particularly close attention to the other team's quarterback.  He just might be auditioning for the starting QB job for the Jets come next year.