Levis Lands on the Practice Squad as New York's QB Room Gets Thinner

The Jets have added Will Levis to the practice squad, per the depth chart, slotting him in behind Cade Klubnik as the third quarterback on the roster. That's notable mostly because of what it says about where this room stands right now. The Jets released Bailey Zappe before the season and handed the backup job to Klubnik, a rookie. Now, with Geno Smith the unquestioned starter and Klubnik the only name between Smith and a crisis, bringing in Levis makes straightforward sense as insurance.

Levis is a former second-round pick who has bounced around without finding a permanent home, which puts him squarely in the category of veteran depth options available mid-season. He's not a solution to anything. He's a phone call away from the active roster if something goes wrong.

The concern here is less about Levis specifically and more about the pattern. This is a Jets team that went into the season with a brand-new starting quarterback, a rookie backup, and a secondary still patching itself together after the Sauce Gardner trade. Smith's ankle issue in the preseason was a scare that passed, but the quarterback room has always been thin. Adding a practice-squad arm in September is the organization acknowledging that thinness out loud.