Ben Roethlisberger Among Trio of QB ’Wild Cards’ for Jets After Aaron Rodgers Injury, Says Insider

Big Ben headlined three intriguing quarterback targets for the Jets to replace Aaron Rodgers.

If the idea of a Tom Brady comeback wasn’t intriguing enough after Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s injury, there was the reported interest from Colin Kaepernick. But if neither of those two rumblings did the trick for New York fans, we can now add another new name to the list of head-turning options mentioned.

Ben Roethlisberger.

Following the news that Rodgers’s injury suffered on his first drive as the team’s quarterback is a season-ending torn Achilles, it’s been an endless cycle of buzz and rumors. But two new and admittedly surprising additions to the list surfaced recently, along with one familiar name, courtesy of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler pegged three retired “wild cards” for the Jets in former Steelers QB Roethlisberger, former Jaguars first-round draft pick Blake Bortles and Brady.

Wild cards include retired quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and—wait for it—Blake Bortles, who went to the 2017 AFC Championship Game in Jacksonville with now-Jets playcaller Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler pegged Ben Roethlisberger as one of three ‘wild card’ options for the Jets at QB :: Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

As enjoyable as it can be to toss around the idea of adding a player such as the former two-time Super Bowl champion in Roethlisberger, it’s equally as hard to envision it actually happening. The same stands true for Bortles, although he could make some sense due to the aforementioned Hackett connection and the fact he’s only 31 years old.

Roethlisberger last played in 2021 with Pittsburgh, while Bortles hasn’t seen the field since the 2019 season. As for the Brady discussion, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini poured cold water on that idea with her latest report.

“You can mark one name off the Jets’ list of potential QBs: Tom Brady. I’m told the team will not be inquiring with Brady about any interest in a return to football. Brady has also made clear to people close to him, he’s done playing football,” Russini posted to social media.

Betting on any of these three names to join the Jets is a long shot, to say the least. Especially with current quarterback Zach Wilson receiving the full support of coach Robert Saleh.