The smart play for them is to re-sign Sam and hold onto JJ as backup for the next two years. If Sam continues to play at this level, then pick up JJ's 5th year option and trade him. If Sam really balls out next year, then they can trade JJ a year earlier. Whereas if Sam gets hurt or regresses, they'll still have JJ.
Exactly JJ is on a cheap rookie deal that also includes a fifth year option. There is zero incentive to trade JJ…he’s cheap and can sit and learn There is zero reason for them to NOT sign Darnold Smart play is to keep both
Good points. I do think there will be an incentive to trade though if the trade offer is good. Sam is only 5 years older than JJ, so JJ is not Sam's successor. He is Sam's insurance policy. JJ was way over drafted too because teams are looking for a long shot at a QB all the time. And with 27 year old Sam in fold, Minny succeeded there. JJ can probably yield a high second round pick and maybe even the 1st from a QB needy team to get assets to build around Sam now. I agree it would be smart to see if Sam can do it again the second season, but it does depend on the offer and also if Sam continues good play well, keeping both is like wasting a high pick - not many teams can really afford that. Not sure if he will be available this offseason, but it is possible, and as long as Sam continues to play well, JJ should be on the market within a year.
Sam is an interesting case. I thhik Minny el;evates HIM more than he elevates anyone else. Their D, the WR the RB and TE combo is top level.
That would make the most sense. Ive been hearing for a month or so now they wouldn't resign him because the math just does not work or make sense but if he takes them deep into the playoffs how do you let him walk? The Vikings have a great shot to go all the way IMO currently. Detroit has too many injuries so the Vikings are on leveled playing field with them and the Eagles. Rooting for Sam to go all the way.
If Sam ends up leading his team to the SB victory and playing like an MVP level player, and JD let him go... It would be pretty tough pill to swallow.
It will actually prove as the largest error the Jets made, even larger than drafting Zach Wilson (which could have been used to bolster weapons around Darnold). At the end of the day Darnold had absolutely nothing to work with here. No WR, RBs, Oline, TE, nothing, absolutely nothing. I've never seen a QB put in a worse situation setup to fail than Darnold was in. If he had half the weapons ZW had he would have made it here.
The key when you want to start a rookie QB, particularly not a runner, is good OL. Then you want to have weapons and a coach that can develop you. Sam literally had none of that in 3 years here. OL was absolute shit all the time. Perriman top WR - downgraded by JD from already bad #1 Anderson. Not even half decent TE. JD took 6 years to build OL finally. Remember that "seeing ghosts" game? For a young QB, things like that can do lasting damage. And without any weapons... He never had a chance. Turns out he was a top talent after all, Suck for Sam was real, but it took years to recover from the regression he had here. And then he made great comments about the Jets, saying he should have played better here. Very easy to root for him, it's just that if he does become a top QB and wins a SB while we are still searching for a QB, it will be very difficult to process.
It already is a tough pill to swallow. JD sending Darnold to Carolina to take Wilson with the #2 overall pick is one of the worst decisions this franchise has ever made. Ever. Keeping Sam and trading that pick for a haul of picks that could have been used to further build the team around him was the only decision that made any sense then and the decision to move on from him and get Wilson was a stupid decision then and it amazingly looks even worse now. Douglas set the franchise back years, potentially even a decade with that nonsense
