Justin Fields, quarterback of the Jets? It makes a lot of sense

The Jets haven’t officially released Aaron Rodgers yet, but one thing that Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey made clear at the NFL Combine is that they have moved on from the quarterback.

Neither Glenn, the Jets’ first-time head coach, nor Mougey, their first-time general manager, was willing to spend much time talking about turning the page on Rodgers. They’ve handled it like the scene in “Seinfeld” when Jerry says to George, “Just do it like a Band-Aid. One motion. Right off.”

Rodgers, who is expected to be cut when the 2025 league year begins on March 12, is in the Jets’ rearview mirror. They’re not necessarily in his yet.

He will address what happened at some point, and on “The Pat McAfee Show,” of course. It will lead to another round of Rodgers questions. The Jets’ new regime probably won’t say much then, either.

That’s the start of and part of the Jets’ culture change. After Rodgers dominated the headlines for two years and the Jets did everything to appease and please him, Glenn is showing his locker room that no individual is above the team.

“Obviously, quarterback is an important position,” he said, “but listen, everybody on our team is important.”

It’s a good start and needed change, but the Jets still have a quarterback question to answer.

So who will be their Week 1 starter?

It might be Tyrod Taylor, who already is on the roster. He has a career record of 28-28-1, but it’s way too soon to name him QB1.

“We haven’t had free agency, we haven’t had the draft,” Glenn said. “Listen, Tyrod is a good player, we know that.”

Mougey promised the Jets will “exhaust all options.”

In free agency, that starts with Justin Fields.

It’s an unimpressive free-agent group, featuring Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. There has been speculation about the Jets potentially trading for or signing Kirk Cousins if he is released to be a one-year bridge quarterback.

For one season, they’re better off with the more mobile Taylor. He is a fine fallback option, but Fields makes a lot of sense for the Jets.

A dual-threat quarterback, Fields turns 26 on Wednesday and could be the starter for multiple years. He also played with Garrett Wilson at Ohio State, so they have familiarity and chemistry.

The Steelers likely will re-sign either Wilson or Fields. If they don’t sign Fields before the start of free agency, the Jets should have a good shot of getting him, but they will have competition from other teams.

Fields showed improvement with Pittsburgh last season after three up-and-down years with the Bears after Chicago selected him 11th overall in the 2021 draft. He went 4-2 with five passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns before Steelers coach Mike Tomlin handed the offense over to Wilson.

If the Jets miss out on Fields, they could bring in Winston or Wilson to compete with Taylor for the starting job.

The Jets also will target a quarterback in next month’s draft, which Mougey said has “a lot of intriguing prospects.”

Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are the top two, but the Jets, picking seventh, aren’t in an optimal spot to take one of them. If Glenn and Mougey believe either will be a franchise quarterback, the Jets have the assets to move up.

They also could trade down and collect additional draft capital to fill other positional holes. If the Jets did that, Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss could be the pick.

Dart’s stock rose at the Senior Bowl. He is big (6-2, 225 pounds), has a strong arm and can make plays with his legs.

Syracuse’s Kyle McCord is a potential Day 3 pick.

The Jets will have plenty of options. It’s important that the new regime gets it right — for every position, but especially quarterback.

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.