Backup QBs Joe Flacco, Mike White returning to Jets, according to sources

The Jets’ quarterback room won’t look much different next season.

Veteran Joe Flacco will return on a one-year deal, his agent Joe Linta tweeted Wednesday afternoon. The Jets also tendered restricted free agent Mike White, according to a league source.

White received the original-round tender of $2.54 million. If another team signs White and the Jets choose not to match the offer, they would receive a fifth-round pick as compensation.

Flacco’s deal is worth $3.5 million plus incentives, a source said.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas also made a trade on Wednesday. He acquired a 2023 sixth-round pick from the Texans for linebacker Blake Cashman. The oft-injured Cashman played in just 14 games since the Jets drafted him in the fifth round in 2019.

Additionally, the Jets are re-signing veteran offensive lineman Dan Feeney on a one-year deal, another source said. The Jets also gave restricted free-agent kicker Eddy Pineiro a $2.43 million tender, his agent Drew Rosenhaus said.

The Jets also added another tight end after reaching a deal Monday with C.J. Uzomah. They are signing former Viking Tyler Conkln, a league source said. Conklin, a fifth-round pick in 2019, caught 61 passes for 593 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Bringing back Zach Wilson’s backups was a priority for the Jets. Robert Saleh said after the season that he wanted the quarterback room to remain intact, and that he would be "vocal" about his desire to bring back Flacco.

Douglas probably didn’t need too much convincing. A former Ravens scout, Douglas pushed for Baltimore to draft Flacco in 2008. Douglas also initially signed Flacco in 2020 to be former Jets’ quarterback Sam Darnold’s backup.

It is important for Wilson to have a veteran mentor, although the Jets downplayed that the first half of his rookie season. The 37-year-old Flacco is entering his 15th NFL season and his third with the Jets.

They acquired Flacco from Philadelphia last Oct. 25 after Wilson injured his knee in a Week 7 loss in New England. Flacco appeared in two games for the Jets last year. He was 27-for-42 for 338 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Flacco started four games for the Jets in 2020 when Darnold was injured. The Jets tried to re-sign Flacco last offseason but he chose Philadelphia and a chance to be closer to home.

Wilson’s injury led to the Jets sending a sixth-round pick to Philadelphia for Flacco. He didn’t report to the Jets right away because he was unvaccinated for COVID-19. He needed to go through the NFL’s protocols before he could be cleared to join the Jets.

Flacco threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns in his only start last year — a loss to the Dolphins.

White, 26, had been Wilson’s primary backup to that point. He became a fan favorite and one of the most popular athletes in New York after a brilliant performance in his first NFL start. White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Jets over eventual AFC champion Cincinnati.

A former fifth-round pick of the Cowboys, White had been with the Jets since 2019, but mostly as their practice-team quarterback. He didn’t take his first NFL snap until Wilson’s injury.

White started three games last year. He threw five touchdown passes and eight interceptions — four of them came in a lopsided loss to Buffalo. Flacco started the next game.

Feeney, a former full-time starter with the Chargers, provides depth and versatility on the offensive line. Known in part for chugging beers and crushing the cans on his head when he attended Islanders' playoff games at Nassau Coliseum last season, Feeney started five games for the Jets in 2021. He played center and guard and was used in jumbo packages.

The Jets gave Pineiro the right-of-first-refusal tender. Thatmeans the Jets can match any other offer that Pineiro receives. If they choose not to match it, there is no compensation for the Jets.

Pineiro was signed in December and he calmed their kicking troubles. Pineiro made all eight of his field-goal tries and was 9 of 10 on extra points in five games with the Jets, who had Matt Ammendola handle the kicking duties for the first 11 games and Alex Kessman for one.

Ammendola is still a Jet. He signed a reserve/futures deal in January.