Jets sign Bailey Zappe to future contract as reset of QB depth begins

The Jets ended the season with the quarterback situation murky to say the least, with Justin Fields having not worked out the way the team planned, Tyrod Taylor still injury-prone and undrafted free agent Brady Cook not ready for prime time.

So, Monday, they signed Bailey Zappe to a futures contract.

Based on Zappe’s NFL career to date, this signing shouldn’t be considered any sort of answer to their long-term plans at the position.

The 26-year-old Zappe has played 15 games in three NFL seasons, going 4-5 as a starter with a 62.1 completion percentage and 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

He was 2-0 as a rookie for the Patriots in 2022, completing 70.7 percent of his passes for 781 yards with five TDs and three INTs. In 2023, he went 2-4, completing 59.9 percent with six TDs and nine INTs.

Last season with Cleveland, he started one game, losing it, completing 51.6 of his passes for 170 yards with one TD and two INTs.

By signing Zappe to a futures contract, which is a one-year, nonguaranteed contract, the Jets can add another quarterback to the roster for the start of next season’s offseason workouts without the money counting toward the 2026 salary cap.

Futures contract players are generally signed to teams at the end of the season so they can lock them in for the following year’s minicamp and training camp.

Fields is still under contract, but an almost certain lock not to remain with the team for next season. The Jets were 2-7 in his nine starts.

Cook is also under contract, but struggled mightily starting the final four games of the season, going 0-4 with two TDs and seven INTs.

Taylor is a free agent and unlikely to return in 2026.

In addition to Zappe, Mac Dalena, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound receiver who was an undrafted free agent signed by the Chiefs last season, was also signed, as was kicker Lenny Krieg.

Dalena was on the Seahawks practice squad in November. Krieg, who was born in Germany, spent the 2025 season on the Falcons practice squad as part of the International Pathway Program.