White Or Wilson? At Least It’s Not Darnold
The big story for the Jets (2-6) this weekend is whether Mike White can parlay his emergency quarterback opportunity into more of a full-time gig with another solid outing against the AFC East leading Bills.
White, who helped engineer an upset over the Bengals two weeks ago before suffering a forearm injury that knocked him out of the next game in Indianapolis last Thursday, has taken to offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s system and proved it can actually produce points.
Buffalo, which is coming off an ugly 9-6 loss in Jacksonville last week, will be frothing at the mouth to put away an opponent that hasn’t been able to stop anyone almost all season. The only way Gang Green can stay competitive is if White can move the ball against the NFL’s No. 1 defense in yards and points allowed, a very tall task.
Meanwhile, Zach Wilson, who went 1-5 in the first six starts of his NFL career, is still on the mend from a PCL strain. In a turn of events, Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh walked back his comment from earlier in the week when he stated that his rookie QB would return as the starter when healthy, now leaving the door open for a permanent QB change for the first time this season as Wilson, the Jets’ No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, was handed the starting job in training camp without a veteran to challenge him. White, who also had never taken an NFL snap prior to this season, wasn’t even considered a threat to Wilson’s ascension.
Until now. So who will it be after this weekend? White or Wilson? No one can make that call at this time. However, we do know one thing: Either will be better than had the Jets chose to stick with Sam Darnold.
The Panthers, despite a 3-0 start that included a 19-14 opening day victory over the Jets, are already showing signs of buyer’s remorse from their offseason acquisition of the fourth-year quarterback out of USC whom New York selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. Not only did Carolina surrender to the Jets three draft picks (second-and-fourth rounders in 2022 plus a 2021 sixth-round pick that eventually turned into developing defensive lineman Jonathan Marshall), they also then committed to Darnold’s fifth-year option of about $18.8 million guaranteed for the 2022 season.
For their generosity, the Panthers (4-5) have watched Darnold perform like the worst QB in the league over the last six games in terms of both NFL QB rating and ProFootballFocus.com’s grading system. Remember how Darnold stans would constantly shriek about how it was so unfair that the Jets let hm down through their everchanging (and lousy) coaching and inferior supporting cast? Well, what’s the excuse now? It’s true that star running back Christian McCaffrey has sat out five games due to injuries, but the Panthers offensive line and skill positions are still considered to be heads and shoulders above what Darnold used to have to work with and no one disputes that Panthers Head Coach Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Joe Brady possess far better football minds than Adam Gase.
Yet, in this six-game stretch, Darnold has been a magnet for negative plays, with 10 interceptions, a lost fumble, and 16 sacks taken. Jets fans to their Panthers brethren: Been there.
And like his experiences in New York where he missed at least three games each season with an injury or illness, Darnold is now hurt again, with a crack in his scapula that is expected to cost him at least four weeks.
Carolina doesn’t seem to be all that enthused about eventually handing the starting job back to Darnold as they signed their former star QB Cam Newton off the street on Thursday. While Newton won’t be ready to play by Sunday, the Panthers didn’t just hand him a reported $4.5 million guaranteed for the rest of the season with a max value of $10 million to hold a clipboard.
There will be competition and comparison, just like how it will be with White and Wilson in New York.
According to reports in the early stages of the offseason, there was actual debate at the Jets Florham Park headquarters about whether the team should both draft a quarterback AND keep Darnold for another season. Obviously, that would have been untenable. Jets General Manager Joe Douglas may not have gotten a whole lot of things right in planning for this season, but you can’t argue with his call to move on from Darnold.
Prediction: Bills 44 Jets 23