Let’s just get this out of the way, has Bryce Petty earned the backup quarterback job?
Advertisement
A hot topic lately has been the Jets QB situation. A ridiculous storyline, but a storyline just the same.
Past year it was fear. Yeah, sure a little bit. That leaves the backup QB spot and it has been assumed the spot belonged to Geno Smith. No, no he has not.
Petty, a fourth-rounder out of Baylor a year ago, appeared to be the likely odd man out when camp started. Last year Petty looked completely lost and overwhelmed, this year he looks less lost and less overwhelmed but to watch him all training camp is still to watch a quarterback mired in inconsistency. If they can get running back Matt Forte healthy, they have a chance to be better and more explosive, too.
I get it, most people hate Smith.
He did say then that he was clear about the four quarterbacks on the roster, adding, “Until we make a change, there won’t be (a change)”.
Fitzpatrick, who threw for 3,905 yards and a franchise record 31 touchdowns last season, ended a summer-long contract stalemate by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $12 million on the eve of training camp. Fitzpatrick will look to those three as his primary targets. While Smith has experience (he’s appeared in 32 games), he will be a free agent after this season.
Hackenberg, the Jets’ second-round pick earlier this year, has always been rumored to be headed for a “redshirt year”, with the team, and has been working as the fourth-string quarterback behind starter Ryan Fitzparick and backups Geno Smith and Bryce Petty. There is no need for the Jets to rush Hackenberg into regular-season games.
When the Jets take the field in Saturday’s preseason game against the Giants, the quarterback depth chart will be the same as it has been all offseason.
It takes a lot of faith to believe the real Fitzpatrick finally emerged last season, and that he can duplicate that kind of success again. “For us to have Ryan come in, get the ball late in training camp, me being new, having a new offensive coordinator, new head coach, new left guard, that definitely makes it hard for our offense to gel and bond”.
The topic of Smith’s status as the Jets’ No. 2 quarterback was brought into question this week. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a truly horrific performance in the Snoopy Bowl by Smith couldn’t force Bowles to give Petty one more shot, but it does mean that it’s unlikely. The “competition” got interesting when Smith struggled against the Redskins and Petty had a very strong showing. It should be, has he done enough for the Jets to consider keeping four quarterbacks? “I think he’s already answered that question”.
Ideally the Jets would like to stash Petty on the practice squad, but that would involve cutting him and risking losing him if another team made a decision to claim him.
Advertisement
The third preseason game generally is the one in which most of the starters play significant minutes before sitting out altogether or playing sparingly in the finale.
