New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is just one of two rookies in his draft class still unsigned. As a result, he has not reported to training camp.
But while Jets head coach Todd Bowles says Darnold is missing out by not being there with the team, he’s not getting too worked up over the No. 3 overall pick’s absence just yet.
“Any time you're not here, you lose something,” Bowles said per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “It's been a day, obviously when he comes in, we'll get him caught up. But right now, I've got 79 other guys to worry about.”
Bowles says he understands the reason why Darnold still hasn’t signed his rookie deal, acknowledging that it’s just part of the business in football.
Bowles also points out that even with Darnold missing, he still has two other quarterbacks in Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater who can take over if needed.
“We've got two other quarterbacks, they can play too. So if he came and got hurt on the first day, we'd have to play everybody else, so we'll treat it just as that and we'll move on.”
Despite Darnold’s title as the Jets’ quarterback of the future, he’s likely doing damage to his chances of winning the starting QB job this season with his decision to sit out camp. Conversely, that should benefit McCown and Bridgewater, who are both capable of winning the job outright even with Darnold in the fold.
Chances are the Jets find a way to get Darnold's deal done sometime in the near future. But until then, Bowles' focus will be on preparing the rest of the team — and his other QBs — for the start of the season.
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