Sam Darnold is making his return for the New York Jets against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday after missing the last three games with mono, and in order to protect his spleen (which mono makes very vulnerable to rupture), he will be wearing special pads, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Darnold completed 28 of his 41 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown during his team's Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills and has not played since. Because the Jets had a bye in Week 4, Darnold has only missed three games.

The 22-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Southern California, was originally selected by the Jets with the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.

He made 13 starts during his rookie campaign, throwing for 2,865 yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while completing 57.7 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 77.6.

Darnold was particularly impressive late in the 2018 season with a couple of strong performances in Weeks 15 and 16.

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Even with Darnold back, the Jets have far bigger issues than quarterback.

New York's offensive line has surrendered a league-worst 23 sacks this season, and that's in just four games while most other teams have played five games.

Additionally, the Jets rank 30th in the NFL in rushing offense, and while New York's defense ranks a respectable 12th in the league in yards allowed, it is allowing 25.8 points per game, which has a lot to do with the Jets constantly losing the field position battle.

As a result, New York has gotten off to an 0-4 start.

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