The Jets’ impending decision on Sam Darnold goes beyond whether Joe Douglas and the team’s next head coach think the young quarterback’s future can be salvaged.
Like most things, money should also play a factor. Darnold has one-year remaining on his rookie contract, in addition to his fifth-year option. For former top-10 picks like Darnold, the fifth-year option is equivalent to the salary of the league’s transition tender, which is about $25 million. That number becomes fully guaranteed at the start of the league year in the fifth year of Darnold’s contract, which would be March 2022.
Picking up Darnold’s fifth-year option would be a large commitment to make for the Jets when there’s barely any evidence to suggest that he can be a franchise quarterback. It’s not a decision New York has to make at this very moment in time, but it’s not one it can take lightly either when considering its options this offseason.
If the Jets choose to move on from Darnold and draft a quarterback with the No. 2 pick, it would allow New York to reset the clock on a rookie quarterback contract. Not only does it give Douglas and a new coaching staff a chance to groom their own quarterback, but it also has a positive financial impact for the franchise in 2021 and beyond. That’s why even after missing out on the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, the Jets will have to determine if Justin Fields, Zach Wilson or Trey Lance are worthy alternatives to Darnold.
Douglas has taken a non-committal approach to Darnold’s future with the team. It will be a collaborative decision once New York hires its next head coach. If Douglas had committed to Darnold before interviewing candidates for the Jets’ vacancy, it would have likely limited the team’s candidate pool.
The Jets have until May 3 to decide whether or not to pick-up Darnold’s fifth-year option. Although the team has a sizable amount of cap space, they’d be making a significant financial commitment while confirming that Darnold will be the team’s quarterback for at least the next two seasons.
That would be quite the choice for a quarterback who hasn’t shown much through his first three NFL seasons.