Sunday in New England is the gracious end of the Jets 2020 season.
This is expected to be the end for their head coach Adam Gase, who is likely to be sacked before breakfast time on Monday after two unsatisfactory seasons.
The timetable as we know it now will be very different in 2021. The biggest question is whether the quarter will differ.
Before the Jets started winning games – two consecutive entries to Sunday’s final against the Patriots – to destroy their chances at the No. 1 overall draft and a chance at Clemson full-back Trevor Lawrence, the answer seemed somewhat clear. It would have been a huge upset if the Jets had not drafted Lawrence and pulled away from Darnold after three inconsistent seasons (13-24 record, 44 touchdowns, 37 interceptions).
But Lawrence is no longer part of the conversation for the Jets who have the second pick – presumably after the Jaguars lined up Lawrence with the top pick.
So, what should I do with Darnold now?
This is what: Unless Joe Douglas, general manager of the Jets, has the same belief about Justin Fields of Ohio, Ohio, Zach Wilson of the State, North Dakota, Trey Lance or any other quarter that qualifies in the draft, which he in April. Lawrence, he needs to keep Darnold and build a proper team around him.
Douglas has nine choices in the ’21 draft and nearly $ 100 million in a salary cap. If he can not put enough players in the skill position around Darnold and a good line of insult in front of him, Douglas is not worth the six-year contract that Jets CEO Christopher Johnson gave him.
If the worst thing that happens to the Jets’ quarterback position is to have Darnold back next season with a stronger supporting cast around him, that’s not a bad thing.
The debate surrounding Darnold has raged for the past two seasons and it’s about this: is his contradiction the result of his own shortcomings or the shortcomings of those around him?
The answer, of course, is a combination of the two. The question is which is weighed heavier?
Darnold, no matter how bad his offensive line was and how limited his skill-possessing talent was, cannot be completely acquitted due to his excessive turnover and questionable decision-making.
“It’s about consistency and it’s also about consistency with the guys around you,” Gase said on Thursday, convinced that Darnold needed everything to lead the Jets with a capable cast around him. “If you are a young player, you need to have a core around you that you can grow with, that can help you develop as a player.”
Darnold has gone the past three games without turning the ball over once, which is an important step. It is no coincidence that his top three receivers – Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims – were back due to injuries in the matches.
‘The quarterback’s position should get a lot of the blame for everything [bad] it happens, and it often does not come to them, ” Gase said. ‘Do I think we should get better at it in certain places? [Darnold]? Yes, absolutely. I think he was at the point where it all had to fall on him? No, I do not.
‘If we can get a few things cleared up, it’s really going to help him make decisions, accuracy and timing. But we have to match the guys who’s with him. ‘
The counter-argument, however, is that Darnold did not elevate those around him as the elite full-backs can do, despite the shortcomings in their cast (see: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers).
“The only thing I asked you was what quarterbacks are you talking about who did not have a good cast?” Said Gase. “We can go around in circles on one.”
These circles include Cincinnati, where rookie Joe Burrow, the number one overall pick last spring, threw in five of his ten times for 300 yards or more before a torn ACL ended his rookie season. But he was working on a much better receiving corps than the Jets had – Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and AJ Green.
These include LA, where Justin Herbert threw in his 14 times for the Chargers for 300 yards or more, but he threw to Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Hunter Henry, one of the best tight ends in the game.
Darnold has completed passes this season for nine different receivers and six different backs. Some of the players are not of NFL caliber.
So should Darnold stay with a better cast around him or should the Jets give up a 23-year-old on whom they only chose a number 3 draft three years ago?
“I know we all like to think hypothetically and what-if-think, but I’m currently a Jet and like to be here,” Darnold said Thursday. “I absolutely believe that my best days lie ahead.”
For the sake of him and those of the Jets, those days will hopefully come while he wears green and white.