The Jets need a quarterback.

The Jets have a lot of salary cap space, but the top quarterback in free agency is too expensive.

Locked on Jets starts now.

You are Locked on Jets, your daily New York Jets podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Welcome, this is the Locked-on Jets podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

It is Thursday, February 26th, 2026, and I'm your host, John B from Genggreen Green Nation.com. Thank you so much for making the show your first listen or first watch every day, and for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. Big shout out to you every day. Or if you're new to the show, this is a daily podcast covering the New York Jets with new episodes each day through the week, Monday through Friday. Today we have our weekly mailbag. We usually do our mailbacks each Wednesday, but this week we pushed it to Thursday. We'll talk about why the Jets are very likely to be aggressive in free agency and have a lot of front-loaded contracts this offseason. We'll discuss the Jets quarterback rumor, which makes the least sense. But we'll start by talking about the top quarterback free agent on the market, Malik Willis. And that's our first question. John, I'm sure you saw the NFL.com article that rated Malik Willis not just the number

one quarterback in free agency, but the number one free agent in the entire league this year.

The Jets obviously need a quarterback. They have ample cap space. Why would they not sign Willis?

Try and explain that. Well, it's a good question.

And yes, I am aware the NFL.com article did discuss that a little bit earlier in the week.

And Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com put together a list of the top free agents, Malik Willis,

was number one. I'm a little skeptical that Malik Willis is the number one free agent in the NFL this offseason, even accounting for the value of a quarterback.

I think that Willis is an intriguing option. I think that we're too quick to dismiss

quarterbacks who entered the league and aren't immediately great.

The Titans drafted Willis and then gave up on him very quickly.

They sent him off to Green Bay and in a good infrastructure with a good coaching staff,

Willis has not played much, but he's had success. You know, he came in for Jordan Love in a big game on a Saturday night late in the regular season when

the Packers were playing the Bears. And although Green Bay lost the game, Willis, I think,

exceeded all expectations. He looked really good in that game. A week later, the Packers lost

again to Baltimore. But again, it was a good performance by Malik Willis. When Willis entered the NFL

a few years back out of Liberty, the general view was there was a good performance by Malik Willis. When Willis entered the NFL a few years back out of Liberty,

the general view was there was a lot of physical ability,

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