New York Jets: Josh McCown should open season as starting quarterback
The New York Jets will reportedly re-sign quarterback Josh McCown to a one-year deal worth $10 million, and he should start the season as the No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart.
The New York Jets were jilted (not quite at the altar) by Kirk Cousins. So, they had to go to plan B. Plan B consists of signing two veterans, and they are Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater, in addition to probably drafting a quarterback.
The Jets also announced that McCown would go into the “season” as the starting quarterback. That caused Twitter to explode with anger and vitriol.
As Daryl Slater of NJ Advanced media tweeted, it was the right thing to do for the Jets.
Source confirms #Jets have informed Josh McCown he will go into training camp as the starter. Which makes perfectly reasonable sense. Also guarantees nothing about the identity of the Week 1 starter. Why would Jets set that in stone now?
— Darryl Slater (@DarrylSlater) March 13, 2018
In this instant news cycle, we forget to take things in stride, and we overreact to words and forget their meaning. Reports were that he would begin the season as the starter, not that they named him the Week 1 starter. Those are two different things.
The season technically begins with training camp, not Week 1. Therefore, entering the “season” as the starter simply means he will open camp as the starter.
It’s perfectly logical for the Jets to open camp with McCown as their starter. For starters (no pun intended), no one knows how Teddy Bridgewater’s knee will hold up to training camp. If it holds up, then McCown will likely slide into the backup role.
Another situation that could happen is the guy they draft being much better than they thought and leapfrogging over Bridgewater and McCown to be the Week 1 starter. That’s unlikely, but possible.
Next: NFL Free Agency 2018: Grades for major signings
In this 24/7 news cycle world, we need to stop overreacting to one word. Stop and think before reacting. It’s ok for him to open camp as the start, but if he does become the Week 1 starter, there will be underlying circumstances. Logic must dictate the reaction, not instantaneous thoughts.