New York Jets: Bryce Petty has a large hill to climb

Bryce Petty has the talent to become the franchise quarterback of the New York Jets. Now he just has to go out and prove it, even under dire circumstances.

The New York Jets quarterback situation is murky. Bryce Petty now has the chance to prove what he’s capable of in the final three weeks of the regular season, even though the coaches didn’t want to put him in this situation.

It’s a next-man-up mentality in the NFL, meaning there’s no room for error. That said, there need to be some reasonable judgement when it comes to Petty’s NFL future. Whether he’s a dud, lights it up for three games, or falls somewhere in between, take the games with a grain of salt.

The Jets are playing teams that may have a lot to play for in their final three games. If the Patriots beat the Steelers Sunday, they will be playing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and the Saints and Chargers are in the thick of their division races.

There is are several reasons the coaching staff didn’t want to put the young quarterbacks in at this time. The first is that the Jets are still mathematically (albeit probably not realistically) in the playoff race, but they need a lot of help. The second is that the offensive line is terrible, and you can’t get a true assessment of a young quarterback when they’re constantly under duress. This bad offensive line leads to an inconsistent running game, and mistakes are much more likely by the young quarterbacks when they’re going to be in likely throwing situations.

Next: New York Jets: 3 Free agent wide receivers to consider in 2018

If Petty can overcome this, he will prove that the Jets may not need to get their franchise quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft. Then the Jets can build their team properly. If not, they may be forced to make the mistake of taking a quarterback in the first round.