Tyrod Taylor DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Green Bay Packers have made a move to upgrade their backup quarterback situation, signing veteran signal-caller Tyrod Taylor and releasing Desmond Ridder. Green Bay will be Taylor's eighth NFL team as he enters his 16th season in the league. He logged six games (four starts) for the New York Jets in 2025, completing 59.7% of his pass attempts for 779 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. The 36-year-old still brings some juice with his legs as well, as he rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts. Should anything happen to Packers QB1 Jordan Love, Taylor could have some streaming appeal as a dual-threat fantasy quarterback in 2026. As for Ridder, he'll be looking to latch on with a new team before the start of the upcoming season. The 26-year-old did not appear in an NFL game in 2025, spending time on the practice squads of both the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

After trading quarterback Justin Fields to the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason, the New York Jets still need a veteran backup QB for Geno Smith. Carson Wentz re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings, and the Philadelphia Eagles acquired Andy Dalton from the Carolina Panthers. Options are dwindling, but ESPN's Rich Cimini writes that the 32-year-old Cooper Rush could be in play after the Baltimore Ravens recently released him. Re-signing Tyrod Taylor is another option, but the 36-year-old is injury-prone. Other free-agent QBs include Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson. A trade can never be ruled out, but the asking prices remain high around the league. Rush is an eight-year NFL veteran who spent his first seven years with the Cowboys before going 34-for-52 for 303 yards, no touchdowns, and four picks in four games (two starts) for the Ravens in 2025. Taylor replaced Fields as the starter last year in New York but played only six games (four starts) due to injuries and was lackluster, completing 59.7% of his pass attempts for 779 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions.

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (knee) is officially inactive for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, while Tyrod Taylor (groin, knee) will be active as the QB2 behind undrafted rookie Brady Cook. Both quarterbacks were questionable heading into Sunday, with Fields' status more in doubt after being limited in practice this week. As a result, the 2021 first-round pick will at least serve as the emergency QB3 in Week 16. Taylor was expected to serve as the backup to Cook after logging a full practice on Friday. Cook shouldn't be considered as a fantasy option against a New Orleans Saints defense that has been stingy against the pass in recent weeks. In his NFL debut last weekend, Cook threw three interceptions with just one passing score and 176 passing yards.