With no moves made at the trade deadline, the New York Jets have three quarterbacks they can work with and two of them are injured. After being linked to every deal from acquiring Mike Glennon to jumping for Colin Kaepernick, the Jets stayed put and will simply put their hope in someone getting healthy by Week 9 play against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With Ryan Fitzpatrick needing surgery and Geno Smith day-to-day, could Bryce Petty see playing time?
No one has been ruled out yet for the Jets. According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, both Fitzpatrick and Smith are listed as day-to-day so it is really anyone's guess as to who will get the starting nod for the team. Cimini writes that Petty could be the favored option especially against a team like the Jaguars. Head coach Todd Bowles admitted that he is not very confident either Smith or Fitzpatrick see the field on Sunday which means it is Petty's job for the taking.
UPDATE: Ryan Fitzpatrick has been announced as the starter this week.
If given the nod, this would be Petty's first real taste of NFL action. He has yet to appear in a game. Even when Smith was injured on Sunday, the Jets opted to put in the already injured Fitzpatrick as Petty has been a healthy scratch. He is expected to get practice reps on Wednesday while New York looks to add a veteran into the mix. The Jets have previously had Matt Flynn on the roster and could bring him back for the time being.
At 4-3, the Jets are at a crossroads in their season. They have the offensive talent to continue winning if they can figure out the quarterback position. Bowles noted that Fitzpatrick's injury will not get worse if he were to play. The head coach noted he is not happy both quarterbacks were injured on moves that could have been avoided.
"In both cases, they both should've slid," Bowles said, via ESPN.com. "I'll say that again. It's competition, and these guys, in the heat of the battle, it's hard to slide. But you've got to be smarter than that for the good of the team. You can't fault the competitiveness. We just have to be a lot smarter."
Considering the Jets' season is living on the play of the quarterback, having to consider playing Petty on Sunday is not ideal. It would mean a big game is likely for Chris Ivory who will do plenty of running. Petty does have a big arm, something he showed while at Baylor, but that in no means indicates the Jets' confidence in the rookie launching passes downfield to Brandon Marshall or Eric Decker. In the preseason, Bowles noted that Petty was a work-in-progress quarterback and that likely still stands as Week 9 approaches.