Todd Bowles clarifies Jets 2018 starting QB situation

Head coach Todd Bowles has recently clarified his comments to the media about who will be starting next season at quarterback. It will likely be a familiar face to start unless someone completely outduels him in training camp.

It’s become a common theme almost every offseason when it comes to the New York Jets. Another year, another interesting quarterback situation. It’s a big reason why the Jets traded up in the 2018 NFL Draft in the first place to finally address this situation. Speaking of which, head coach Todd Bowles made some interesting comments about who is starting at quarterback next season.

Once free agency began, Bowles said that Josh McCown, after signing a one-year contract, is undeniably the Jets starting quarterback. At the time, this statement was perplexing to fans. Ideally, most wanted to at least see an open quarterback competition in training camp to determine who is the best player to win a plethora of football games.

It didn’t make sense to just appoint McCown as the starter in March. Thankfully, Bowles recently clarified his statements so fans can somewhat rest easy. While McCown is likely to start for the Jets, if someone outplays in training camp, they will get the starting spot, according to Bowles.

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In a news flash by Rich Cimini of ESPN, here is what Bowles said about his very topic:

“Josh will go into it as the starter,” Bowles said. “By the end of training camp, we’ll see who the starter is.” He stressed there’s competition at every position, but Bowles’ track record suggests it would take something major for the No. 1 quarterback to get unseated in the preseason — i.e. a quarterback getting punched in the jaw by a teammate.

It’s doubtful another Geno Smith situation will happen this summer but at the end of the day, if by some miracle Teddy Bridgewater or a newly drafted quarterback plays lights out football to undeniably be the best man to start, it’ll be an exciting time for the Jets. While many appreciate everything McCown brings to the table, he’s still limited in being able to hit all the passes and be durable for an entire regular season. If he plays well in training camp to start, then so be it since at least he’s coming off the best season of his career.

Either way, it’s good to see Bowles at least clarify that the starting job isn’t just handed to McCown that no matter how good anyone else around him plays, he’ll still be on top of the depth chart. An open quarterback competition is ideal here and if McCown ends up being the best option to start, then it is what it is. If not, well, get ready for another exhilarating rollercoaster ride when it comes to the most important position on the team.