The New York Jets are taking the safe route with rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.
The first-year signal-caller is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots with a nagging foot injury, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday morning. It’s not an entirely surprising development, as Darnold didn’t participate in practice this week, the Jets revealed on their injury report.
With Darnold sitting, Josh McCown, 39, once again will be under center for the Jets. He started in place of the injured Darnold in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills. The fledgling Bills blew out the Jets 41-10, and McCown played very poorly, completing just 17 of his 34 passes for 150 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Rapoport indicated the Jets don’t want to push it with Darnold, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Darnold has looked very good at times this season, but it has otherwise been a difficult rookie campaign. Darnold leads the league with 14 interceptions, thanks in large part to a four-pick game in his last start against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. Darnold has just a 43.3 passer rating in his last three games, all Jets losses. It doesn’t make much sense to add to that misery against a 7-3 Patriots team coming out of its own bye as a 9.5-point favorite.
