Not only was Aaron Rodgers getting healthy the primary focus of the offseason for the New York Jets, but finding a replacement for Zach Wilson was just as much.

While the team’s success will likely be defined by what Rodgers can do offensively, they can’t have a similar predicament to last year.

Losing Rodgers on the first drive turned the 2023-24 campaign upside down, a factor that the Jets were hoped they never had to face. And in return, Wilson proved again and again that he wasn’t good enough to be a quarterback they could trust.

The backup quarterback position was a concern entering into the offseason, and general manager Joe Douglas did what he had to do to better the position. New York signed veteran Tyrod Taylor to a two-year, $12 million deal.

Taylor, 34 years old, has demonstrated throughout his career that he can be counted on. He passed for 1,341 yards and five touchdowns in 180 attempts last season.

According to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, it was “clear” during minicamp how much of an upgrade Taylor is over Wilson.

“Rodgers skipping minicamp provided Taylor an opportunity to receive some reps with the first-team offense; it was instantly evident how much of an upgrade he is over Zach Wilson.

“Taylor might be the best deep ball thrower of any No. 2 quarterback and still has mobility, but tends to hold onto the ball too long and can miss some easy throws in the intermediate areas.”

The hope is that Taylor hardly ever needs to play, but that’s impractical. Asking a 40-year-old Rodgers to be healthy all season doesn’t seem probable.

Perhaps Rodgers can play in every game and be who they need him to be, but Taylor will absolutely have to play in some instances.

If Rodgers does go down, there’s not much of a cause to panic this time around. The Jets and the fan base seemed to know that Wilson wasn’t going to accomplish the trick last year, but that’s not the case with Taylor.

He’s likely not going to carry this club to the Super Bowl, but that can be said about every backup quarterback in the NFL. As long as he can be serviceable when the team needs it, he’d be a great assistance.