The Jets signed Mike White to the active roster and promoted Josh Adams, Josh Malone from the practice squad to the active roster.
The Jets have themselves a new No. 2 quarterback — for now.
On Saturday, New York signed Mike White to its active roster for Week 1. Despite having no regular season experience, White got the nod over David Fales, who remains on the practice squad, while Joe Flacco continues to work his way back from offseason neck surgery. He will serve as Sam Darnold’s backup until Flacco returns to action. Rookie James Morgan will be the Jets’ third-string quarterback.
The Jets also addressed two offensive skill positions leading up to their season opener, promoting running back Josh Adams and wide receiver Josh Malone from the practice squad. Adams will presumably take the spot of the injured La’Mical Perine as the No. 3 running back behind Le’Veon Bell. The 23-year-old rushed for only 12 yards on eight carries with New York in 2019.
Malone will likely fill in for Denzel Mims, who is doubtful with a hamstring injury. Even with Malone up from the practice squad, the Jets are down to only five wide receivers — Braxton Berrios, Jamison Crowder, Chris Hogan and Breshad Perriman. The 24-year-old appeared in only two games with the Jets last season and played primarily on special teams. In three NFL seasons, Malone has caught seven passes for 75 yards and one touchdown.
The Jets head coach would not commit to a No. 2 quarterback for the Jets season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
Adam Gase is keeping the Jets’ depth chart close to his vest before his team’s season opener.
On Friday, when ESPN’s Rich Cimini asked Gase who his No. 2 quarterback will be on Sunday against the Bills, the coach gave a non-answer before exchanging some banter with Cimini. “It’s a 50-50 shot,” Gase said.
Cimini was looking for a more definitive answer, but Gase didn’t relent, saying “it could be Mike White, it could be Joe Flacco” as an alternative to David Fales. While Gase was clearly being coy, Flacco will not be the Jets’ backup quarterback on Sunday, as the team ruled him out with a neck injury.
That leaves White and Fales, who are both on New York’s practice squad. The Jets aren’t quite ready to give rookie quarterback James Morgan the reigns of the No. 2 spot on the depth chart just yet.
Gase went on to ask, “Should I just fax our gameplan to Buffalo?”
Cimini offered a retort, asking Gase, “Do you think [Bills head coach] Sean McDermott is on the edge of his seat” waiting to find out who the Jets’ backup to Sam Darnold will be?
Ironically enough, earlier this week, McDermott wouldn’t give any indication as to who will start on the right side of Buffalo’s offensive line this weekend.
Sean McDermott still not saying who will start on the right side of the #Bills offensive line week 1…
As Cimini pointed out during his back and forth with Gase, the Jets head coach learned the importance of a backup quarterback in 2019. New York was forced to play Luke Falk between Darnold’s bout with mono and Trevor Siemian’s gruesome ankle injury.
The hope is that Darnold requires no such relief this season.
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La’Mical Perine’s prospects of making his NFL debut against the Bills on Sunday are not looking too good.
New York’s rookie running back missed practice on Wednesday due to an ankle injury that has been bothering him for over a week. The injury is not considered to be serious, but Perine’s status for Week 1 is in jeopardy at this point. In the event Perine cannot suit up this weekend, Josh Adams will likely be called up from the practice squad to take his place.
Tarell Basham, Joe Flacco, Alex Lewis, Marcus Maye and Avery Williamson were also limited on Wednesday. Flacco is not expected to be ready to go for Week 1 as he works his way back from offseason neck surgery, but Basham, Lewis, Maye and Williamson should be ready to go for Sunday. Assuming Flacco can’t play this weekend, David Fales or Mike White will be called up from the practice squad to serve as Sam Darnold’s backup.
Every other player on New York’s 53-man roster was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, including Denzel Mims and Breshad Perriman. This is an encouraging development for the Jets, as both players have been plagued by injuries throughout training camp. Mims missed significant time with a hamstring injury, while a barking knee kept Perriman out of action for a couple of weeks.
With Mims and Perriman back and full participants in practice, New York’s starting wide receiver is once again complete, giving Darnold his top three weapons to work with when he takes the field for the first time in 2020 on Sunday.
The Jets re-signed David Fales and Mike White to the practice squad, but only one of them will backup Sam Darnold.
The Jets have a decision to make on who Sam Darnold’s backup will be Week 1 in Buffalo.
New York re-signed quarterbacks David Fales and Mike White to the practice squad Sunday. However, only one of them will be promoted to the gameday roster next Sunday against the Bills.
The Jets have three active quarterbacks at the moment: Sam Darnold, Joe Flacco and James Morgan. Darnold is obviously the starting quarterback, while Flacco is injured. He’ll be back from injury in a few weeks, so the Jets decided to keep him on the active roster. Morgan is just a rookie with no NFL games under his belt, so the Jets want him to get some experience on the sideline before entering a game.
With new practice squad and roster rules, however, the Jets can promote a quarterback for any games that Flacco misses. More likely than not, it will be Fales who gets promoted to the active roster. He spent the majority of the 2019 season as Darnold’s backup but didn’t see any game action. Fales is familiar with the offensive system that Adan Gase runs, as he’s been with the coach throughout his NFL career.
White had a solid training camp this summer, but the Jets need someone who has some NFL experience to backup Darnold. White has yet to appear in a regular season game since being drafted in 2018 by the Cowboys.
Here are four players the Jets should protect for their 16-man practice squad.
With cutdown day over and done with, the Jets will shift their focus to their practice squad on Sunday.
The practice squad features a few new rules this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There can be 16 total players on the practice squad, up from 10 in previous years. Six of the players can have as many accrued seasons as possible, while the rest either have no accrued seasons, one-plus accrued seasons or two accrued seasons.
Teams can protect four players on their practice squad from being signed by other teams. As long as teams submit their names the Tuesday before a game, then no other team can sign them.
With that being said, let’s take a look at four players the Jets should protect for their practice squad.
QB David Fales
AP Photo/Adam Hunger
The Jets are going to need another quarterback on the roster for Week 1, so they’ll likely bring David Fales back to their practice squad as long as he clears waivers.
With Joe Flacco out for the first few weeks, the Jets only have one healthy quarterback to backup Sam Darnold. That would be rookie quarterback James Morgan. So the Jets are going to need Fales to be the third or No. 2 quarterback just in case both Sam Darnold and Morgan were to get hurt.
Fales doesn’t have a lot of game experience, but he knows Adam Gase’s playbook. Wherever Gase has gone, Fales has followed. New York can promote Fales to the 53-man roster twice before he is subject to waivers.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco made the active roster, but David Fales was cut.
Even though Joe Flacco will not ready for the start of the regular season, he still made the Jets’ active roster.
Flacco is coming off neck surgery that kept him out all of Jets training camp. The expectation is that he’ll be ready for contact in a couple of weeks and he’ll only miss the first few games of the regular season.
The Jets were put in a tricky situation with Flacco. It was either place him on the PUP list, which would’ve kept him out for six weeks, or put him on the 53-man roster. New York went with the latter because it does not expect Flacco to be out too long.
With Flacco unable to backup Sam Darnold for the first few games, James Morgan will be the No. 2 quarterback. It comes as a surprise that the won the backup job over David Fales, who was cut. The Jets also cut QB Mike White.
The Jets can retain Fales or White on their practice squad if they clear waivers and promote a quarterback for any games Flacco misses.
Adam Gase has always had a soft spot for Fales because the quarterback knows his playbook well. However, Fales doesn’t have a whole lot of on-field experience and hasn’t played well in the limited looks he’s gotten. Fales has played in a total of three games since entering the league in 2014.
The Jets will be allowed to keep six players on their practice squad from signing with other teams this season.
The practice squad is a lot more important in 2020.
Because of the uncertain ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, any player could be knocked out for a considerable amount of time, meaning teams would have to scramble to find replacements. Typically, teams look to free agency or trades to fill gaps, but they can also sign players off another team’s practice squad if they deem him talented enough for their roster.
But with the uncertainty of how, when or whom the virus will affect, the NFL and NFLPA agreed that teams can protect up to four practice squad players each week from poaching, according to The Washington Post’s Mark Maske. Not only that, but teams can also now add 16 players to the practice squad – up from 10 this past season – and six players can have an unlimited number of accrued seasons, according to The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones.
So when the Jets look at their protected players, they’ll need to identify two attributes: Which players are the most talented/have the most potential and which players play a position the Jets may need a contingency plan for injuries strike. Ideally, all four players would accomplish both goals for the Jets, but that’s a tall order to fill with a limited number of protected spots.
With these new rules in mind, let’s take a look at six candidates for the protected practice squad status.
(Adam Hunger-AP)
QB David Fales
We’ve already talked about how Fales is the Jets’ best quarantine quarterback option, so it only makes sense he should be considered for the protected player slot. If anything happens to Sam Darnold this season, the Jets need an immediate quarterback available to play. Currently, they don’t have that behind Darnold. Joe Flacco won’t be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from injury and rookie James Morgan is still a work in progress.
While Fales isn’t a great option as an emergency quarterback, he does have experience in Adam Gase’s system and would be able to start in a pinch if the Jets lose Darnold for whatever reason. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it would be better than nothing.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco is on track to return early in 2020 from offseason surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco got good news Thursday when he went to see a specialist in Philadelphia for an update on his recovery from neck surgery.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, all is well with Flacco’s neck and he could be back on the field soon. The 35-year-old is on track to miss only one or two games. He has his final checkup in early September, but Flacco has made significant progress since undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk in April.
Flacco signed with the Jets in May on a one-year, $1.5 million deal to serve as Sam Darnold’s backup and mentor. His decision to undergo surgery was one he wrestled with on a daily basis, as he was not sure he wanted to continue his playing career. After deep contemplation, Flacco ultimately opted for surgery and another go around in the NFL with New York.
“My mind was just all over the place, even a couple of months into the offseason,” Flacco said in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio after signing with the Jets. “I was kind of going crazy about the whole thing. The fact that I finally got [the surgery] done and put all that behind me, I can move forward and look forward to football.”
Although he is nearing a return, Flacco will still be out for the Jets’ season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 13 and possibly another week or two after that. It is unlikely that he will be cleared for contact at any point in training camp and will likely be relegated to light, non-contact work for the next month.
With Flacco on the shelf, David Fales and rookie James Morgan have assumed backup duties behind Darnold.
Jets Wire takes a look at 11 veterans who will be fighting for their roster spot when New York reports to training camp in late July.
Training camp is the time for undrafted free agents and unheralded fringe players to make their case for an active roster spot. It is also the time for veterans to put everything on the line in order to keep their jobs.
When the Jets report to training camp on Tuesday, there will be just as many young players duking it out for a roster spot as there will be veterans hanging on for dear life. New York has a good amount of positions up for grabs, which means opportunity for the veterans. However, general manager Joe Douglas and company will have no issue siding with a younger player over one with more experience if the younger player dominates while the veteran treads water.
So, which Jets veterans will be fighting for a job in training camp? Here are 11 that are going to have to impress if they want to break camp with New York in September.
Avery Williamson
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
It’s rare that a player finds himself on the chopping block less than two years after leading his team in tackles, but that is the position Avery Williamson is in entering training camp.
Williamson missed all of 2019 due to a torn ACL, putting his future with the Jets in flux. Blake Cashman shined as a rookie in Williamson’s place, while New York added C.J. Mosley’s former running mate, Patrick Onwuasor, in free agency this offseason. That does not necessarily mean Williamson is on his way out, but it puts him behind the eight ball when it comes to making the 53-man roster.
Considering the financial gain the Jets stand to benefit from by parting ways with Williamson, all signs point toward the 28-year-old not breaking camp with the team. Unless he leaves no doubt that he should be the starting inside linebacker opposite Mosley, Williamson’s time at One Jets Drive could be running short.
Jets Wire breaks down New York’s quarterback room with training camp and the 2020 season approaching.
With the beginning of training camp less than two weeks away, it’s time to take a closer look at the makeup of the Jets’ roster entering the 2020 season.
Gang Green’s 2019 campaign essentially went off the rails when QB Sam Darnold contracted mononucleosis. Backups Trevor Siemian and Luke Falk were thrown into the fire, effectively exposing the Jets’ lack of depth under center.
As training camp and the beginning of the regular season inch closer, Jets Wire will be providing an in-depth look at each of New York’s position groups and what could be in store for the unit in 2020. Let’s kick things off with a breakdown of the gunslinger situation at One Jets Drive.
The Starter
Thanks to the upgrades the Jets made to their offensive line this offseason and a couple of new additions at wide receiver, 2020 could be the year Sam Darnold finally comes into his own as New York’s starting quarterback.
Insufficient pass protection and an underwhelming group of wide receivers plagued Darnold’s first two seasons as a starter in the NFL. Fortunately for Darnold and the Jets, general manager Joe Douglas did his best to rebuild the offensive line and give Darnold two new viable weapons in speedster Breshad Perriman and rookie Denzel Mims.
New York will go as Darnold goes in 2020. If the third-year signal-caller plays well, the Jets will be in the hunt for a wild card spot and maybe even the AFC East title. If not, it will be back to the drawing board at season’s end.
Depth
Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
If Darnold succumbs to injury or illness in 2020, the Jets will not be left out in the cold as they were last season thanks to an improved quarterback room.
Veteran Joe Flacco is in as New York’s No. 2 quarterback. He won’t be ready for Week 1 due to offseason neck surgery, but the former Super Bowl MVP gives the Jets a reliable backup once he is 100 percent healthy and a potentially valuable mentor for Darnold.
Behind Flacco are David Fales, rookie James Morgan and Mike White. Fales is familiar with Adam Gase’s offense, but the Jets drafted Morgan for a reason. The 29-year-old Fales is all but a lock to break camp with the team while Morgan marinates on the sideline, but once Flacco returns to the field, Fales’ time in New York will likely end. White is nothing more than a training camp body and is not a serious threat to make Gang Green’s 53-man roster.
Outlook
Darnold is potentially in store for a breakout 2020 season. He will finally be able to stand in the pocket and go through his reads playing behind a decent enough offensive line and has an assortment of weapons to work with in a solid wide receiver trio, the two-headed monster of Ryan Griffin and Chris Herndon at tight end, and Le’Veon Bell out of the backfield.
With that being said, the Jets need those hopes to come to fruition if they want to contend this upcoming season. Darnold does not have to magically develop into a worldbeater, but he has to play well enough to convert close losses into wins. If that does not happen, 2020 stands to be another disappointing year — and one that could force the Jets to reconsider Darnold’s future in the Big Apple.
