After two seasons of watching Sam Darnold’s backups stumble, the Jets came prepared this season with Joe Flacco serving as the No. 2 quarterback. With Darnold now out once again, Gang Green is banking on Flacco being a better insurance policy than his predecessors.
The Jets are 0-6 in games that Darnold has missed, three due to a foot injury in his rookie season and another three due to mononucleosis last year. Josh McCown was Darnold’s backup in 2018 and threw four interceptions in his three starts. Trevor Siemian, an experienced starter, was Darnold’s original understudy in 2019, but he quickly suffered a gruesome ankle injury in his first start filling in. That left the Jets with Luke Falk and, well, that was a disaster.
Flacco was signed with hopes that he would give the Jets a chance to win games with Darnold out. (Nevermind that they haven’t won any games with Darnold in.) Flacco has a career record of 108-78 as a starter, including a Super Bowl win. Flacco has thrown for 40,083 yards, 218 touchdowns, 141 interceptions and owns a 61.8 completion percentage.
However, the past couple of seasons have been difficult for Flacco. He was the starter in Baltimore for 10 seasons before losing his job to Lamar Jackson in 2018. The following year, Flacco started just eight games for the Broncos before suffering a neck injury that required surgery and a lengthy recovery.
Considering the trials he’s endured in the late stages of his career, it’s no wonder that leading the Jets offense gave him some jitters during Wednesday’s practice.
“Just to get out there and practice today was a lot of fun,” Flacco said, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano. “You feel like a little kid again. I think I have a lot left. I want to show my teammates I can play.”
Flacco will get that opportunity this Sunday against the Cardinals. While his main focus is on winning the game, he knows that this could determine his future in the league.
“I think I’d be lying if I were to deny that,” Flacco said. “I want to play quarterback in this league.”
As for the Jets, this is exactly why they signed Flacco. Going even further back than Darnold’s tenure, the team is 2-12 in games started by its backup quarterback since 2015. They’ve rarely had a No. 2 who gives them a better chance to add to that win column.
We’ll see if Flacco can deliver in Week 5.