Tag: Josh Johnson

What are Jets’ options at QB with Zach Wilson injured?

What can the Jets do at quarterback with Zach Wilson expected to miss time?

Zach Wilson will miss a few games after the Jets quarterback suffered a sprained PCL injury against the Patriots on Sunday.

A Monday morning MRI confirmed the injury, and Wilson is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Wilson left in the second quarter of New York’s Week 7 blowout loss to the Patriots after two big hits roughed him up. He left the field under his own power but didn’t return.

Wilson was replaced by Mike White, who threw a touchdown and two interceptions in his NFL debut. White figures to be New York’s first option to replace Wilson in the starting lineup, but he’s not the only quarterback under contract with Gang Green. It would also make sense for the Jets to bring in a new arm now that they’re down one.

With that in mind, here’s a quick rundown of New York’s QB options now that Wilson is sidelined.

Jets QB Zach Wilson expected to miss multiple weeks with sprained PCL

Zach Wilson is expected to miss a few games after the Jets QB exited Sunday’s contest with a PCL sprain.

Zach Wilson will miss a few games after the Jets quarterback exited Sunday’s contest.

A Monday morning MRI confirmed that Wilson suffered a PCL sprain, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The rookie is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.

Wilson left in the second quarter of New York’s Week 7 blowout loss to the Patriots after two big hits from New England. He didn’t return but left the field under his own power.

Wilson finished the game 6-10 with 51 yards passing. He was replaced by backup Mike White. White threw for 202 yards and a touchdown, but he added two interceptions and didn’t look all that comfortable playing at NFL speed for the first time in his career.

With Wilson now expected to miss time, White is the presumed starter until the first-round pick returns. The Jets also have journeyman veteran Josh Johnson on their practice squad. He could be elevated to the active roster and backup job.

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Robert Saleh praises James Morgan, but not ready to name backup QB

The Jets will pick between James Morgan, Mike White and Josh Johnson to serve as Zach Wilson’s backup in 2021.

The battle to be the Jets’ backup quarterback is a three-way fight between veteran Josh Johnson, the inexperienced James Morgan and Mike White. But through three preseason games, Robert Saleh doesn’t appear ready to name Zach Wilson’s backup.

It sounds like Saleh won’t pick Johnson despite a solid preseason finale. The journeyman played an efficient half against the Eagles after completing 7-8 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, but Saleh had more praise for Morgan and his fourth-quarter comeback.

“If we don’t fumble that ball [late in the fourth-quarter] I really believe [Morgan]’s putting us in field goal range and we’re going to get a kick off with [Matt] Ammendola and win the game,” Saleh said Friday night. “That’s the way he was operating. That’s the way he was moving.”

Morgan went 13-23 for 158 yards, two touchdowns – both to tight end Kenny Yeboah — and one interception. The first score was a 21-yard strike to Yeboah, while the second touchdown came on a magical 60-yard Hail Mary pass. That gave the Jets a chance to tie the game, which they did on a Josh Adams two-point conversion.

“To show the grit to get us all the way down there and obviously to throw a 60-yard shot into the end zone was pretty cool,” Saleh said.

The backup quarterback job has been a hot topic all offseason and training camp because of the inexperience of Morgan and White. Joe Douglas brought Johnson in as a pseudo mentor for the young trio of Wilson, Morgan and White, but he likely isn’t in contention for a roster spot. Saleh sounds like he wants to stick with and develop the young quarterbacks rather than place a veteran behind Wilson.

Only Morgan played all three preseason games after White sat out the Eagles game, but he didn’t have a great summer prior to Friday’s tie. He only completed 6-12 passes for 48 yards against the Giants and Packers, while White went 20-28 for 166 yards in those games.

The Jets have a few days before they need to trim the roster to 53 players. The coaching staff must decide if it wants to head into the season with two or three quarterbacks. It’s a tough decision, but one that would only influence the Jets’ record if something happens to Wilson.

“We thought they all got better as the entire camp went along,” Saleh said. “I thought they all progressed pretty well. Now we’re going to evaluate.”

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Jets position battles: Who has the edge after New York’s preseason finale?

The final week of the preseason provided a closer look at some of the Jets’ key position battles.

The Jets survived their preseason finale against the Eagles without a loss, but the long-lasting impact of New York’s tie against Philadelphia will go far beyond the final score.

Gang Green’s third preseason clash provided one last look at the many ongoing position battles at One Jets Drive. With numerous spots up for grabs on both sides of the ball, New York’s annual preseason matchup with the Eagles told the story of which players are currently winning those fights and which players have some ground to make up if they want to secure a place on the 53-man roster or a higher spot on the depth chart.

Here is the latest on the Jets’ position battles with roster cuts quickly approaching.

Studs and Duds from Jets’ preseason Week 3 tie vs. Eagles

Which Jets shined in New York’s tie to the Eagles? Who put up poor performances in the preseason finale?

The Jets pulled off a dramatic tie against the Eagles on Friday with a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion, finishing the preseason (technically) undefeated.

The Jets offense performed admirably throughout the contest, including that second-half comeback, but the defense left a lot to be desired. A lot of missed tackles and poor coverage left gaps throughout the defense that allowed the Eagles to put up points in bunches.

Robert Saleh and the rest of the coaching staff will use this game to evaluate New York’s players one last time ahead of final cuts. A few players stood out, though not necessarily for positive reasons.

Let’s look at New York’s Studs and Duds from the preseason finale.

6 takeaways from Jets’ preseason finale against the Eagles

Takeaways from the Jets’ thrilling preseason Week 3 tie against the Eagles.

The Jets turned their preseason finale against the Eagles into a thriller, as Kenny Yeboah caught a Hail Mary from James Morgan as time expired in the fourth quarter. Josh Adams converted the subsequent two-point conversion attempt to end Friday night’s action in a 31-31 tie.

The Jets opted not to play the majority of their starters after the sky. That was probably for the best after the sky opened up pregame in East Rutherford, soaking MetLife Stadium’s turf and pushing kickoff back a half hour. As such, New York’s preseason finale featured players fighting for their spot on the 53-man roster.

Here are six takeaways from Gang Green’s last game of the preseason — one the Jets survived without a loss.

Eagles vs. Jets Preseason Week 3 recap: Everything we know

What a way to end the preseason… Here’s our recap of the Jets’ tie with the Eagles:

Inclement weather delayed the Jets’ preseason finale, but exhibition play has finally come to an end.

New York tied with the Eagles, 31-31, at a soggy MetLife Stadium on Friday night. A late fumble from Jets TE Daniel Brown, that turned into a touchdown, looked like a game-sealer for Philadelphia, but James Morgan found Kenny Yeboah for a Hail Mary touchdown that led to the draw.

Both teams sat the majority of their starters. With the tie,  New York ended its preseason 2-0-1.

The Jets and the rest of the NFL will soon turn their attention to final cuts and Week 1 matchups. Before that happens, however, let’s take a quick look at what else went down in Gang Green’s game against the Eagles.

Seahawks Preseason: 4 players who need to step up vs. Broncos

Here are a few players who need to step up with a good performance.

Preseason games may not be the most exciting football in the world. For undrafted players and others on the roster bubble these can be the most important games of their lives, though.

The Seahawks will be hosting the Broncos tomorrow night in the second of their three August matchups this year. Here are a few players who need to step up with a good performance.

Josh Johnson signs with Jets, beginning QB’s 17th NFL roster stint

The Jets signed 35-year-old Josh Johnson to join their young quarterback room of Zach Wilson, James Morgan and Mike White.

The Jets added to their quarterback room, signing veteran Josh Johnson. New York waived linebacker Brendan White in a corresponding move.

Johnson hasn’t seen a regular season snap in the NFL since 2018 when he played four games with Washington, but he did play in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football and the XFL, as well as two brief stints with the Lions and 49ers, since then. Johnson played in 33 NFL games with eight starts, completing 55.2 percent of his passing attempts for 1,632 yards, eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

The 35-year-old has endured quite the football journey since being drafted in the fifth round by the Buccaneers in 2009. He’s played in four leagues – the NFL, the United Football League, the AAF and the XFL – and been on an NFL roster 17 different times, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

As you may have guessed, this isn’t Johnson’s first time with the Jets. New York signed him for a week during training camp in 2015 to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick. That was after Geno Smith suffered a broken jaw at the hands of IK Enemkpali.

Johnson will provide an experienced presence in a Jets locker room that features three quarterbacks who have never attempted a pass in a regular-season game. Rookie Zach Wilson is the presumed starter, but backups James Morgan and Mike White shouldn’t provide too much solace if Wilson were to miss time. The Jets worked Johnson out in late July before Wilson signed his contract, so they clearly liked him enough to bring him on officially.

Robert Saleh previously said that he wasn’t planning on adding a veteran passer to this group, but he and Joe Douglas obviously changed their minds. Johnson might not make the final 53-man roster when final cuts happen later this summer, but he’ll at least give the Jets another person to look at for the backup role.

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With Zach Wilson unsigned, Jets will work out 2 veteran quarterbacks

With Zach Wilson still unsigned, the Jets will work out veteran quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Sean Mannion.

With Zach Wilson still unsigned, the Jets will work out veteran quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Sean Mannion on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

With Wilson and the Jets haggling over offset language, New York only had two quarterbacks, James Morgan and Mike White, at Wednesday’s first training camp practice. Should the Wilson negotiations continue, Gang Green could need an extra arm in camp to take up some throws. That’s where Johnson and Mannion could come in.

Neither took a regular season snap in 2020, and Johnson has not since 2018 when he was a member of the Washington Football Team. Mannion attempted 21 passes for the Vikings in 2019.

The two quarterbacks have combined for eight starts in their careers.

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