New York Jets: 3 Reasons Sam Darnold deal needs to happen immediately
By Dan Parzych
2. Darnold behind in quarterback battle
After all the years of struggling to find a quarterback to build the franchise around, the Jets finally decided to take the much-needed risk of seeing if Darnold ends up being the answer by using their first-round pick on him in April. However, just because New York believes Darnold is the answer they’ve been waiting all of these years to see doesn’t mean he’s going to start as a rookie since the youngster has some competition to deal with.
Not only will Darnold have to play well enough over the next month to prove to the Jets that he’s a better option for 2018 over veteran Josh McCown, but also Teddy Bridgewater will be doing everything in his power to make a strong case as well. In other words, Darnold currently sits at No. 3 on New York’s depth chart, and him being absent from camp as a result of the hold out only makes it more difficult to win the starting job.
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Early signs indicate that New York will most likely go with McCown or Bridgewater to start off the 2018 season while allowing Darnold to learn from the sidelines, which can actually be quite common for some quarterbacks during their first year. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean Darnold is going to settle for being a backup, as he will do whatever it takes to make a strong case for himself to be the starter, assuming he does participate in camp at some point.