Jets are Leaving Sam Darnold Out to Dry

 As free agency is about to kick off in the NFL, speculation about what the New York Jets may or may not do with their quarterback position is the question that seems to be the key to the off-season. 

Gang Green owns the number two pick in the upcoming NFL draft; they have a ton of draft capital, and have been rumored to be one of the many destinations for disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. However the chances that the Jets land Watson is not great -- even if they have the most to offer.  Jets General Manager Joe Douglas appears he wants to hold on to his picks, while teams like the Bears, Panthers and Broncos are rumored to be willing to give up just about anything for Watson. 

That leaves the Jets with really one of two options. 1) Keep Sam Darnold and build around him, or 2) draft his replacement. 

It appears more and more likely that the Jets will look to deal Darnold. Douglas said he would listen to calls, and according to SI's Albert Breer and ESPN's Adam Shefter the Jets have been contacted by as many as eight teams about Darnold. 

Meanwhile, CBS' Pete Prisco said he believes there is a chasm between Douglas and the Jets coaching staff. The coaches want to keep Darnold. Douglas wants to unload him and draft Zach Wilson out of BYU. 

If there is a chasm already within the Jets, that is a horrible sign. 

 

To be honest, Darnold hasn't been good in his brief three years in the league. His fellow draftmates Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen have passed him on the expressway, but both Mayfield and Allen have great supporting casts and franchises that believe in them. Darnold has had nothing. He had two bad head coaches and coaching staffs; and virtually nobody to play with him. Now Darnold has a GM who just six months ago called him "untouchable," now considers him very much "touchable." 

In many ways Darnold has been given a raw deal here in New York. He deserves better. There is no reason to believe that the Jets coaching staff of Robert Saleh and Mike LaFluer can't work with Darnold and fix him; that is one of the reasons why they are here. 

While it would make sense financially for the Jets to move on from Darnold -- he is due $25 million next year -- and resetting the rookie contract again with a new quarterback, it would mean the Jets remain in the same holding pattern of drafting a new supposed franchise savior every three years. 

And who is to say that Zach Wilson will be the guy? Wilson had one great year at BYU in 2020, and one year where he was not so good as he battled injuries in 2019. Heck, Wilson was even battling for his job as recently as August. Yes, Wilson improved a lot last year, but to say he is a better prospect than Trevor Lawrence - as Chris Simms of NBC has stated; or to completely ignore Ohio State's Justin Fields who had a more consistent college career is foolhardy. 

The Jets are better off keeping Darnold, trading out of the 2 and getting more players, if for no other reason than for continuity purposes. If things don't work out with Darnold in year 4, you move on. 

Chances are though, the Jets are well on their way to repeating their same old pattern. Draft a quarterback. Let him fail. Dump said quarterback for another three years later.