Columbus Aviators coach Ted Ginn Jr. is turning to Jalen Morton at quarterback this week as the team closes a season that will end without a playoff trip. The move comes after Columbus was mathematically eliminated from postseason contention last weekend with a loss to Birmingham.
Morton will get the nod when Columbus hosts the Birmingham Stallions on Saturday, a game set for ABC 6. The Aviators then finish the season the following Sunday at home against Louisville on FOX 28, giving the club two home games to make a final assessment before the offseason begins.
For Morton, the chance is another step in a long climb. He played college football at Prairie View A&M, went undrafted in 2020 and later earned training camp stints with the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. Now he gets the ball as Columbus uses its final stretch to look at players it may lean on next year.
Morton has framed that path as part of the same pursuit that has followed him since college. “I know my path to get back to the NFL,” he said, adding that “you have to go through this league and show out in this league.”
Ginn has said the decision is about more than one position. “You play for the name on the back of the jersey,” he said, while also stressing that “you still want to be a part of the Aviator culture.” He added that “Ohio and Columbus are still behind us,” a reminder that even with the playoff chase over, the franchise still sees value in how it finishes.
The tension now is clear enough. Columbus cannot change the fact that its inaugural season will end without a playoff appearance, but the last two home games will shape how the organization judges its depth, its quarterback room and the standard it wants to carry into a second season. Morton’s audition is both personal and collective: a quarterback trying to get another look, and a team trying to decide what comes next.
