NY Jets: Adam Gase is optimistic that Sam Darnold will play on Monday

NY Jets’ head coach Adam Gase seems optimistic that Sam Darnold will play this week.

NY Jets‘ quarterback Sam Darnold is once again nursing a shoulder injury after taking a hard hit in the fourth quarter of the team’s 35-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

As a result, he’s being held out of practice on Thursday, but the Jets still appear to be very optimistic that he will play this coming Monday when they take on the struggling New England Patriots.

Head coach Adam Gase spoke to reporters prior to Thursday’s practice to give updates on various injured players. Of course, the player he was first asked about was Darnold.

While he mentioned that he would not be practicing today, Gase did sound optimistic that Darnold would take the field on Monday.

Gase said that Darnold’s chances of playing this week are “pretty good” and that “it’s going to take a lot for him to stay out of this game.” That sure sounds like a team that’s planning on having their starting quarterback this Monday.

NY Jets’ quarterback Sam Darnold has been dealing with a shoulder injury for a few weeks now.

Darnold originally injured his shoulder back in Week 4 after falling awkwardly following a first-quarter sack from Denver Broncos’ linebacker Alexander Johnson.

Despite playing through the injury for the remaining three quarters, Darnold would be held out the subsequent two games with an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder.

He returned in Week 7 and put together a sluggish performance against the Buffalo Bills. But it would be in Week 8, this past Sunday, when he would seemingly re-aggravate the injury.

Already trailing by three scores in the fourth quarter, Darnold scrambled up the middle and was sandwiched between two Chiefs defenders. The former USC star came up gingerly clearly favoring his right shoulder.

Despite this, and despite the fact that the game was already over by this point, he was allowed to stay in and finish the contest — a decision that once again raised some concerns.

Darnold will be held out on Thursday, but the Jets still seem optimistic that he will play this week. Fortunately, they’ll have the benefit of an extra day of rest with their Week 9 matchup coming on Monday Night Football.

It’s been a rough season for Darnold, but here’s to hoping that the young signal-caller can return to full health and get back on track in the second half of the year.