Sam Darnold’s Rookie Year Expectations by David Dubovy

Sam Darnold, the New York Jets first round pick, recently ended his hold out over offset language in his rookie deal. The rookie quarterback from USC can now start taking reps with the team in practice, which is obviously huge for a first year player.

Darnold may not be the starting quarterback as of now, but it's reasonable to think he'll be playing games at some point in the year. Darnold will start the season behind 16 year veteran Josh McCown and former Vikings Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. It’s safe to say, Sam Darnold will have an opportunity to learn some of the game before being thrust into game-time action. I expect Bridgewater to win the starting quarterback job over McCown and Darnold. In my opinion, Bridgewater will start the first 4-5 weeks of the year, as a “showcase” for the other 31 NFL teams. Bridgewater is a very valuable asset for Gang Green and can bring back a key piece for the Jets in a trade, which I believe will happen. If Teddy Bridgewater does get traded during the season, which I believe will happen, Josh McCown then gets the nod as starting quarterback. The reason being is to see what Josh McCown has left in the tank before handing the keys to the franchise over to Sam Darnold. After week 10 (the Jets bye week), I expect Sam Darnold to be the starting quarterback of the Jets for the rest of the year and years to come. The Jets play six games following the bye week, including two games versus Patriots and a game versus the Packers. Every Jets fan would love to see Sam Darnold put up Deshaun Watson numbers and live up the hype surrounding himself and the young up and coming team. I’d love to see Sam Darnold win the starting job and start week one but realistically, I’d say Jets fan will see him mid-season.