Keyshawn Johnson wants Teddy Bridgewater to start

Former New York Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson believes the team should start quarterback Teddy Bridgewater this upcoming season.

Forget about trading quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, one former wide receiver of the New York Jets believes the team should actually start him this upcoming season. Keyshawn Johnson, who always speaks his mind, recently chimed his thoughts on who should start the regular season for the Jets.

It’s no secret that by the looks of it, rookie quarterback Sam Darnold is solidifying himself as the best player on the Jets to start the regular season. He’s progressing quickly in training camp, looked sharp in preseason action, and has been getting first-team reps almost every time he’s on the field.

But would it be a mistake to start Darnold so soon? Especially since the Jets have two capable veteran quarterbacks in Josh McCown and Bridgewater that might make more sense? In the grand scheme of things, Johnson believes that we’ve already seen what McCown is all about as it might make more sense to start the year with Bridgewater and see what transpires.

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In an article on SNY’s theJetsBlog, here is why Johnson said it’s best to forget about McCown and Darnold to start the season and go with Bridgewater:

“I can’t do no Josh McCown, I can’t do nothing with him. I got Teddy Bridgewater,” Johnson said on ESPN’s “Get Up!” on Friday. “I want to win. I want to at least win some games. I don’t want to, just cuz the guy’s a 15-year veteran or whatever he is. I’m happy with Ted Bridgewater being my backup. Josh McCown, you’re nice, you can be a good teacher, but I got Teddy Bridgewater that can teach [Darnold] too. He’s a veteran also.”

Johnson does have a point since, at the end of the day, McCown is limited in what he can do as he’s a smart game manager but isn’t the future of the Jets. At least with starting Bridgewater, perhaps he can ignite something special for the Jets which could potentially increase his trade value before the trading deadline during the regular season.

Darnold is being groomed to be the future franchise quarterback of the Jets but it might be best to be patient with his development and let him learn a bit from the sideline. With Bridgewater, he can hold down the fort until Darnold’s ready to start and begin his pro career. When that happens, the Jets can trade Bridgewater to potentially be a starter on another team that needs it while possibly getting a lot back in return.

No matter what happens, the Jets have many options to consider at quarterback and that’s a great thing considering the past issues they’ve had with the most important position on the team. If Johnson is right about Bridgewater and he tears it up during the regular season, general manager Mike Maccagnan will undoubtedly have a lot more enticing trade offers than what he’s likely getting now.