Coffee with the Jets: Injury update on Bryce Petty and prediction

In this edition of Coffee with the New York Jets, a reader asks for an injury update on Bryce Petty and whether or not he’ll be the starting quarterback in Week 1.

For all my long-term loyal readers, my “Coffee with the New York Jets” series has always been about collecting all the great content out there on the internet written by fellow sports writers and giving my thoughts on them. They’ve been a blast to do but ultimately, I wanted to come up with something a bit different and evolve my series to where they’re still fun to read over a cup of coffee but a bit more interactive.

Going forward, I’ll be asking readers on my personal Twitter account and the official account of The Jet Press to simply ask any question they’d like for me to answer. Being a fan of the Jets for over 30 years now, it’s a pleasure to connect with others that love this team as much as I do. Without further ado, let’s start this off with a question asked by Daniel Kurtz.

Here’s what he asked via Twitter:

@LTJ81 @TheJetPress How close is Petty's shoulder to being fully healed and what are the odds he is the game 1 starter if fully healthy?

— Daniel Kurtz (@kurtzy14) May 11, 2017

Daniel, thanks for the question as I greatly appreciate it! Back in December of last year, quarterback Bryce Petty, unfortunately, suffered a torn left labrum injury on his shoulder. It was to the point where he needed to get offseason surgery to ensure it doesn’t become a problem as he enters his third season in the NFL.

Petty only got to play in a handful of games but did give a small sample size to what he’s capable of. In 2016, Petty totaled 75 completions, 809 passing yards, three touchdowns, and seven interceptions. It’s not a bad sample size but it would have been great if the Jets started him a bit sooner to get him even more regular season experience.

More from The Jet Press

In an article written by James Parks of 24/7 Sports, the latest injury update on Petty is that he should be ready to compete in training camp. Here’s what general manager Mike Maccagnan had to say about the latest on Petty back in late April:

“Based on my knowledge of the rehab that’s been relayed to me by the trainer, he can physically throw,” Maccagnan said. “He’s still in his rehabilitation process. Going forward here, he’ll be fully cleared at some point in time. To my knowledge, he is able to throw as of right now.”

This is great news for Petty as the Jets have been vocal about having a real quarterback competition in training camp to determine a new starter. Considering he’s going up against Josh McCown who has only won two football games in the past three years as a starter, Petty already has an advantage over the journeyman backup quarterback.

Christian Hackenberg is still in his developmental phase and still has a long way to go before he’s able to successfully compete for a starting job. He hasn’t gotten rave reviews in practice or preseason football and while there is hope Hackenberg will continue to progress this offseason, he’s realistically another year or two away from being ready to start.

This is Petty’s job for the taking in the grand scheme of things. He’s young, has experience, and despite his shoulder injury, is doing well in rehab. I’d say the odds are highly in favor of Petty beating out both McCown and Hackenberg to earn the starting quarterback spot with the Jets and will be under center come Week 1.

Petty has better arm strength, accuracy, and honestly, this is all about rebuilding the right way. Why would the Jets want to waste their time starting McCown who will more than likely be gone after this upcoming season? Petty will put on a clinic this summer and prove his worth while silencing all his critics. Get ready everyone since this could very well be the start of something special with No. 9. Thanks for your question, Daniel!

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