Josh Johnson proved in Week 9 that he’s still a capable NFL quarterback.
The veteran threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in relief of Mike White in the Jets’ loss to the Colts. It was the first time in his 12-year career that Johnson threw for over 300 yards or three scores.
But despite Johnson’s solid performance, the Jets chose Joe Flacco to be White’s backup in Week 10 while Zach Wilson continues to heal from his knee injury.
This decision wasn’t a slight against Johnson. Rather, the Jets would have had to sign Johnson to the 53-man roster after exhausting both of his automatic practice squad promotions. They understandably didn’t want to keep four quarterbacks on the active roster.
“He’s been elevated from the practice squad twice already and we’re dealing with a whole ton of injuries so being able to get him to the 53, there’s a numbers game,” Robert Saleh said Wednesday. “So it’s basically giving him an out, too.”
It’s an unfortunate result of the Jets trading for Flacco and choosing not to place Wilson on injured reserve in Week 8 following his knee injury in Week 7. Wilson remains active and will run the scout team this week, so there just weren’t enough roster spots left for an extra quarterback. The Jets decided to use their openings to fill other positions after a plethora of injuries.
As Saleh suggested, Johnson can be claimed by any team after the Jets decided not to protect him this week. Johnson showed he can still perform at a high level, so it’s possible he finds a better opportunity elsewhere after falling to fourth on New York’s depth chart.
Saleh refused to say whether Wilson would regain his starting job once he is fully healthy, which opens up a whole new quarterback conversation next week. For now, it’s the White show once again with the veteran Flacco as his backup.
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