The 2022 Jets quarterback situation has had a memorable series of twists and turns.
Consider this: Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco and Mike White each have been the starter, the backup and inactive as the No. 3 quarterback at various points this season. It’s hard to think of another year when the Jets have pulled off something like that.
But quarterback drama is nothing new. Going back to the debate over whether Richard Todd or Matt Robinson should start, there seems to always be a quarterback question surrounding the Jets.
This year’s drama has been fun to cover, and it’s not over yet. “Will Mike White be back as the starter in Seattle?” is the next chapter.
The Wilson/White drama has me thinking about all the crazy quarterback situations I’ve covered over the past 10 years. This year’s edition might crack the top five when it is all said and done. Right now, we’ll leave it out and see how it ends. But here are the five craziest quarterback situations I have seen with the Jets since I got on the beat in 2011.
Tebowmania
Tim Tebow’s arrival in 2012 transformed Jets training camp into a spectacle.Neil MillerNot much can compare to 2012, when the Jets traded for Tim Tebow in March after handing Mark Sanchez a contract extension a few weeks earlier. It was instant craziness with news helicopters over the Jets’ training facility when Tebow arrived, a surreal press conference held inside the Jets indoor fieldhouse (the only time it has ever been used for a press conference) and then all of the attention that followed.
It was evident Sanchez was not thrilled about Tebow’s arrival from the start and he was looking over his shoulder. It clearly affected his play. Meanwhile, Tebow could not get on the field. The coaches soon discovered Tebow was not a good quarterback, and all of the talk about using him in different ways quickly went out the window.
The highlight of the craziness around Tebow came during training camp in Cortland. The Jets had a “secret” practice to go over some of the different ways they would use Tebow. Members of the media was allowed to watch, but we could not report on what we saw. At one point, offensive coordinator Tony Sparano ordered the players on the sideline to form a human wall in front of reporters so we could not see. It was a fascinating practice — Tebow and Sanchez were in the backfield together at times — but the Jets never seemed to be able to figure it out during the season.
In December, Sanchez fizzled out (the Buttfumble was the beginning of the end) and the Jets benched him, but not for Tebow. They started Greg McElroy, a seventh-round pick the year before. McElroy made one start, suffered a concussion and then Sanchez started the final game of the season. Tebow attempted eight passes as a Jet, and never played in another regular-season game. The Jets cut him the following May. The Tebow trade was a major factor in the team firing GM Mike Tannenbaum after the 2012 season.
Tebow’s time with the Jets was short and miserable but unforgettable.
The punch
Geno Smith (left) had his jaw broken in 2015 when he was punched by IK Enemkpali (right) in the Jets’ locker room.Bill Kostroun; Anthony J. CausiA few days before the Jets’ first preseason game in 2015, coach Todd Bowles walked into the media room for an unscheduled session with reporters, something that never happens. Bowles stood at the podium and announced starting quarterback Geno Smith had been punched by linebacker IK Enemkpali and Smith’s jaw was broken. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had joined the team a few months earlier, was now the starter.
It soon emerged that the punch stemmed from a dispute over Smith failing to pay Enemkpali $600 that he owed him. TV trucks and reporters then descended on the Jets’ training center, and the team became the biggest story in sports.
Fitzpatrick would end up keeping the starting job all season, even after Smith’s jaw healed. Fitzpatrick set a franchise single-season record with 31 touchdown passes and led the Jets to a 10-6 record. Smith, who had been drafted in the second round in 2013 by the Jets, was done with the team. He spent one more year with the Jets, but he would only make one more start (more on that later).
It was a surreal moment, and it completely altered a season.
Snoopy Bowl blunder
Mark Sanchez lies on the turf in agony after suffering a right shoulder injury during the fourth quarter of a preseason game in 2013.ReutersSmith and Sanchez were battling for the starting job in the summer of 2013. The Jets had tired of Sanchez after that 2012 season and drafted Smith. The Jets seemed to desperately want Smith to be the starter, but he stumbled in training camp and Sanchez looked sharp.
In the team’s third preseason game against the Giants, Smith played terribly and it looked as if Sanchez would win the job. Head coach Rex Ryan then put Sanchez back into the game in the fourth quarter behind backup offensive linemen. Giants defensive tackle Marvin Austin crushed Sanchez and dislocated his shoulder. It was a season-ending injury, and Sanchez would never play for the Jets again. Smith started a rocky rookie season.
After the game, Ryan defended his decision in a bizarre press conference during which at one point he stood sideways while answering questions. Ryan said the team had a chance to win the game and that is why he put Sanchez in, acting as if preseason results matter. The game was nicknamed the Snoopy Bowl back then because of MetLife’s affiliation with the Peanuts cartoon, and the winner used to get a trophy with Snoopy on it. Ryan looked thrilled to receive the trophy after the 24-21 overtime win despite wrecking Sanchez’s shoulder in the process.
Jets get Falk-ed
Sam Darnold returned from a bout with mono in 2019 and saw ghosts against the Patriots.Paul J. BereswillThe Jets opened the 2019 season with a disappointing loss to the Bills, but then things got worse. That week, coach Adam Gase came to the podium for his regular press conference and announced starting quarterback Sam Darnold had mononucleosis.
The Jets started Trevor Siemian the following week on Monday Night Football against the Browns, and Siemian suffered a broken leg courtesy of Myles Garrett. That led to the Jets playing third-string quarterback Luke Falk, who was not ready to play, to put it kindly.
Falk started two games and threw three interceptions as the Jets got manhandled in both games. Darnold returned after missing three games, but seemed to feel the effects of the mono for several more weeks. He saw ghosts against the Patriots shortly after he returned and took awhile to get on track.
An interesting footnote to the Darnold mono chapter: The Jets needed to add a quarterback after losing Darnold and Siemian, and they signed Mike White to their practice squad. White would later become part of his own quarterback dramas with the Jets.
Four down
Christian Hackenberg gets tackled during a preseason game in 2016 — he never played a down in a regular-season game.APThe 2016 quarterback room was one of the most interesting in recent memory. Teams typically have three quarterbacks on their active rosters; some teams only have two. The Jets had four that year.
The weirdness started in the offseason, when Fitzpatrick and the Jets could not agree on a contract after his big 2015 season as Smith’s replacement. With Fitzpatrick unsigned, Smith was the starter all spring, but Bowles kept saying the job would be Fitzpatrick’s as soon as he signed. It felt as if Smith had no shot.
Then the Jets drafted Christian Hackenberg in the second round. There were plenty of people around the NFL who thought Hackenberg was undraftable, but Jets GM Mike Maccagnan used the 51st overall pick on him. The Jets also had drafted Bryce Petty the year before.
When Fitzpatrick re-signed on the day before training camp, it created a crowded quarterbacks room with four players the Jets had all invested in to varying degrees. The Jets carried all four quarterbacks on their roster, and Maccagnan professed his love for all four at every turn.
It turned out Fitzpatrick was not in shape when he showed up for camp, and he had some terrible games early in the season, most notably a six-interception debacle in Kansas City.
Bowles first said he would not bench Fitzpatrick after another dismal game in Arizona then reversed course two days later and benched him for Smith when the Jets played the Ravens. Smith did not last long, tearing his ACL. Fitzpatrick returned to the lineup and won the game.
The Jets benched Fitzpatrick again a few weeks later, and turned to Petty, who made four starts and won one of them before he was injured. Fitzpatrick started the final game of the season against the Bills, his final game with the Jets.
Hackenberg never got into a game that season and wound up never playing a down in the NFL, an incredible statement about a second-round pick.
The 2016 season was terrible, the beginning of a long run of poor seasons by the Jets.
Upset about the upset?
Marcus Maye breaks up a pass during the Jets’ late-season win over the heavily favored Rams in 2020.Getty ImagesThe Jets see Trevor Lawrence on Thursday night, another reminder of what could have been. The Jets were on their way to the No. 1 pick during the 2020 season before pulling off stunning wins over the Rams and Browns in December. They ended up with the No. 2 pick instead and drafted Zach Wilson.
The win over the Rams remains one of the most improbable wins in Jets history. The Jets were 0-13 and coming off a 40-3 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. The plan had been to practice in California that week, but COVID ruined that plan and the Jets returned to New Jersey after the Seahawks game before flying back across the country to Los Angeles.
The Rams were 17 ½-point favorites, but the Jets won, 23-20. The 1-15 Jaguars ended up getting the No. 1 pick to take Lawrence. After a shaky rookie season, Lawrence is emerging and showing the talent everyone saw at Clemson. If Lawrence keeps ascending and Wilson washes out, that Rams game will haunt the Jets.
Stat’s so
Joe Namath led the Jets in touchdown passes, with four, in 1976, his final season with the team.Getty ImagesZach Wilson’s two touchdown passes on Sunday give him six this season. That is the most on the team, passing Joe Flacco, who has five. Wilson is likely to end up with a paltry passing touchdown total, but it won’t be the worst the Jets have seen. Here are the seasons with the fewest touchdown passes for a team leader in Jets history:
Joe Namath, 1976: 4 TD passes
Zach Wilson, 2022: 6 TD passes
Brooks Bollinger, 2005: 7
Browning Nagle, 1992: 7
Zach Wilson, 2021: 9
Sam Darnold, 2020: 9
Al Woodall, 1973: 9
Al Woodall, 1970: 9
Source: Stathead
