When the Jets go shopping for a quarterback in the offseason, to either unseat or push Mark Sanchez, they will find the grocery shelves virtually bare.
They can draft a new franchise quarterback for the future, but with the historic first New York Super Bowl coming to MetLife Stadium in 2014, owner Woody Johnson will be in full-blown win-now mode, even more than he was in the summer of 2009, when Brett Favre was summoned to replace Chad Pennington, who naturally went to Miami and promptly took Tony Sparano to the playoffs.
The fastest way for the Jets to become a legitimate contender again is to stop buttfumbling around with the quarterback position.
Butt how? Butt whom?
There will be no Andrew Lucks or Robert Griffin IIIs available in the draft, and because the Chiefs undoubtedly will target Geno Smith, what the Jets ideally need to do is make the kind of offseason move Ernie Accorsi made when he brought Kerry Collins to the Giants, where Collins flourished under Jim Fassel and Sean Payton.
Alas, here’s the problem: Peyton Manning isn’t available. Not that he ever was inclined to join the green-and-white circus.
Here are the possibilities:
ALEX SMITH (49ers): He would be the first choice. Jim Harbaugh has hitched his wagon to Colin Kaepernick, so Smith will want out. He has emerged as more than a game manager, and he is efficient, which makes him the ideal Rex Ryan quarterback. Especially if the Jets coach can remember how to field an elite defense. Smith will be just 29 years old at the start of next season. He signed a three-year, $24 million deal shortly after Harbaugh kicked the tires on Manning, but Smith is not guaranteed his $7.5 million salary in 2013 if he is not a 49er after April 1. Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum would have to get creative with the salary cap, but bringing in Smith to compete with Sanchez would be a good idea. At the worst, Smith would be an invaluable insurance policy; at best, the game manager Ryan is asking Sanchez to be. It’s a lot of money at one position, but it’s the most important position, and the stakes are sky high.
CARSON PALMER (Raiders): His 2013 salary cap number is $15.335 million. Gulp. Can still play (22 TDs, 14 INTs, 60.8 completion percentage). Don’t hold your breath.
MICHAEL VICK (Eagles): Well sure, if he’s interested in succeeding Tim Tebow as the Wildcat quarterback. He’s not. Beware of Vick: He will be 33 years old at the start of 2013 and is much too brittle. He can’t sell PSLs for Johnson on the sidelines either.
MATT FLYNN (Seahawks): Pete Carroll’s infatuation with rookie Russell Wilson sealed Flynn’s fate. Hardly a sure thing, but he was schooled under Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. A straight-up swap would be salary cap-friendly enough and reunite Sanchez with Carroll. Flynn signed a three-year, $19.5 million deal with the Seahawks — and has yet to throw a pass this season. His 2013 base salary is $5.25 million. His 2014 base salary is $6.25 million.
JOE FLACCO (Ravens): Fugheddaboutit. He’s staying in Baltimore, even if he won’t be getting the monster new contract he would like.
KIRK COUSINS (Redskins): Mike Shanahan’s surprise fourth-round draft choice is trapped behind RG3. He looks like a player. He wouldn’t have enough experience to threaten Sanchez in the preseason, but could overtake him if developed quickly. Would have to make Shanny an offer he can’t refuse. More of a quarterback of the future, however.
GREG McELROY (Jets): Viewed as a backup, but if he can continue to improve his arm strength over the offseason, it would be foolish to dismiss him out of hand. The kid has proven to be a pathological winner at each level.
TIM TEBOW (Jets): C’ mon, man.
So basically it may come down to the devil you know versus the devil you don’t know.
Ryan will be coaching for his job next season, assuming he misses the playoffs again now. Will he want to place his future in the hands of a new quarterback? If Harbaugh thought Smith could take him to the Super Bowl, he wouldn’t have turned to Kaepernick. And can anyone guarantee Smith, or Flynn, would be mentally tough enough for this market?
Given the fact Sanchez is guaranteed $8.25 million next season, given the fact there is no no-brainer option, there is a strong possibility Ryan’s future will indeed be tied to Sanchez.
Sanchez won’t be winning Jets fans over anytime soon, but Ryan has given him a last chance to win him over again. And win his owner over again.
Ryan can’t afford to be wrong. He won’t win any popularity contests if Sanchez opens training camp in Cortland as the starter, especially if Sanchez fails to get off his butt over these last four games.
But if Smith becomes a free agent, and decides to cast his lot elsewhere, I give you Plan B: Fix Sanchez, already.
Thank Tebow for his time, and for his class, and let him get on with the rest of his Wildcat life elsewhere, and mercifully relieve Sanchez of the Tebowmania distraction.
Get Sanchez a dynamic, every-down, gamebreaker running back and a big-time tight end, should Dustin Keller test the free-agent waters, to team with Santonio Holmes, Stephen Hill and Jeremy Kerley.
And, oh, draft a young QB with promise — Tyler Wilson, Mike Glennon perhaps — just in case.
steve.serby@nypost.com