New York Jets: Sam Darnold timeline updated, mono affected Week 1

The New York Jets will be without QB Sam Darnold for a while, but how long? We have an answer plus we have the details on the mono battle in Week 1.

The New York Jets fan base was hit with a bombshell last week that quarterback Sam Darnold would be out with mono at least vs the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 on Monday Night Football, but possibly even longer.

After the initial doom and gloom of the news, Jets head coach Adam Gase gave some positivity to the team’s fan base.

When he was asked whether or not placing Darnold on IR was a possibility he immediately said, ‘no, he won’t be out for that long.’

Gase also said that the mono DID NOT affect his Week 1 performance and everything involved with the disease happened over the following days.

Both of those beliefs were shot down by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport who gave an updated timeline on Sunday morning:

“Some people have discussed that Sam Darnold could return in Week 5 on the road vs the Philadelphia Eagles. Based on the people that I’ve spoken with that is overly optimistic. The estimate that I was given was 3-7 weeks for Darnold. He’s currently quarantined away from his team. This is also something that affected Sam in Week 1 vs the Buffalo Bills which may explain his performance.”

From @NFLGameDay: Numerous teams are interested in #Dolphins star DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Miami could trade him this week… Plus, #Jets QB Sam Darnold's timeline for mono recovery ranges from 3 weeks to 7 weeks. Not good. pic.twitter.com/pHf3wHG2IM

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 15, 2019

Let’s take a look at that timeline: if Darnold is out for three weeks then he will indeed be ready for the Week 5 matchup vs the Eagles:

• Out Week 2 vs Browns, out Week 3 on the road vs the New England Patriots, and Week 4 is the bye week.

Going all the way to the other extreme, if Darnold is out for the apparent worst-case scenario seven weeks:

• Out for all the games we just mentioned above and additionally would be out of commission for Week 5 vs the Eagles, Week 6 vs the Dallas Cowboys, Week 7 vs the Patriots, and Week 8 on the road vs the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When Darnold returns completely changes the direction of the 2019 season for the green and white. If he’s able to return after the early bye, everything is still in front of the Jets to accomplish what they want.

Although if the Rapoport ‘worst case’ scenario timeline happens, the season could very well be decided by that point. If the Jets are out of the mix by Week 9 or earlier, gang green should be thinking long term on Darnold’s health and simply play for 2020.

Speaking of Darnold’s health, Ian Rapoport dropped one more nugget on his Darnold report that is disturbing and startling. Sam was affected by mono in Week 1 and still played in the game. While you respect his toughness, this could’ve been very serious.

We interviewed a doctor last week to explain the serious side effects of playing with mono and the worst-case scenario features a splenic rupture that in some cases have resulted in a fatality. Sam Darnold is only 22 years old and is the present and future of the New York Jets, you can’t risk his long term health by rushing him back.