The Jets are still hunting for a real answer under center, and in 2026 that search is somehow still going on. Geno Smith is slated to open the year as the bridge starter while New York waits to see what the 2027 quarterback class looks like, but there’s obvious risk in that plan. Smith was horrendous for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, and if he keeps sliding in New York, Aaron Glenn may need a backup plan fast just to keep the season from getting away from him.
That’s where one of the wildest comeback ideas in the NFL picture comes in: Andrew Luck.
NFL.com recently ran through the league’s craziest possible player returns for 2026, and Jeremy Bergman landed on the former No. 1 overall pick as a fit with the Jets. The hook is simple and bizarre in equal measure - Luck, now the general manager of Stanford football, reconnecting with former Colts head coach Frank Reich in New York.
"Currently the general manager of Stanford football, Luck is just 36 years old, younger than three starting QBs in the NFL in 2026 (Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins). Luck is set up pretty nice now that he's no longer getting walloped by pass rushers, but if he ever wished to live to his generational potential, there's still time. Though his old gig is currently occupied by Danny Dimes, Luck can reunite with former Colts boss Frank Reich in New York as a Geno Smith escape hatch and potential bridge."
Jeremy Bergman
Luck has been retired since the 2019 preseason, when he shocked the league by walking away. Since then, there have been plenty of rumors and reports about the Colts and other teams trying to coax him back, but nothing has changed that reality. The odds of an actual comeback still look tiny.
Still, the idea is easy to understand. At 36, Luck would instantly be the most talented quarterback the Jets have had since Joe Willie Namath.
In his last season, he threw for 4,593 yards, 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and helped win 10 games. For a Jets team searching for stability, that kind of production would be franchise-altering.
It remains an alternate-universe fantasy more than a real possibility. But if New York is looking for an emergency answer, Luck is the kind of name that makes people stop and imagine what might have been.
In Other News...
Bills New Era Just Raised The Stakes Around Josh Allen
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For a team that has spent the past few years living on the edge of contention, the coaching transition has not lowered expectations one bit. Analysts still see the Bills as a club built to stay in the mix for the next several seasons, and the way Brady has assembled his staff and handled the early months will only sharpen the scrutiny once camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Were Somehow A Split Second From NFL History Against Baltimore
A bizarre bit of NFL trivia nearly turned into Bills-Ravens history in a 2023 Week 1 matchup, when Buffalo came a split second from being part of the leagues first one-point safety. It is one of the rarest scoring plays in football, available only on a two-point conversion try, and even though the rule opened the door in 2015, the league still has never seen it happen.
Buffalos scare came on a two-point attempt that stayed alive long enough to create the kind of chaos most teams never see, with the defense momentarily in a spot where one wrong step would have handed the Bills a single point. Instead, the play ended with Baltimore escaping the end zone area and the oddest scoring sequence in NFL history still sitting untouched. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Still Have One Flaw That Could Haunt Them In January
Buffalo spent the offseason patching holes on both sides of the ball, and on paper the roster looks deeper and more balanced than it did a year ago. The defensive front has more help, the offense has more options, and there is a real sense that the Bills have tried to make life easier on everybody else by strengthening the pieces around them.
Still, one area remains a little less settled than the rest. The linebacker group is built around Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams and rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr, but there is still a clear need for the group to prove it can hold up week after week. If the front does its part, the linebackers may only have to be solid. If not, it could become the sort of midseason issue Buffalo can live with in October and regret when the games tighten in January. [Read more 🡒]