Not many teams have much attention devoted to their third-, fourth-, and fifth-string quarterbacks, but then again, not many teams have had a quarterback situation quite like that of the Jets in recent years. Now that Gang Green has Josh McCown and Sam Darnold entrenched as its top two signal-callers — and now that Bryce Petty is no longer in the picture — there is some intrigue as to what the team will do with Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Hackenberg.
Both players, of course, come with plenty of uncertainty. The biggest question mark surrounding Bridgewater is his health, and Brian Costello of the New York Post calls Bridgewater’s ability to be a full participant in the team’s OTAs that begin on May 22 “the biggest mystery of the spring.” When asked what the former Viking will be able to do in OTAs, head coach Todd Bowles said, “I can’t give you 100 percent. I’ll see when it gets to that. Then I’ll be able to tell you.”
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, reading between the lines, says the odds are that Bridgewater will be limited in some fashion. Indeed, when asked if Bridgewater has been running with teammates in conditioning drills, Bowles said simply, “[h]e’s been working out.”
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, though, says that even if Bridegwater is not able to fully participate in OTAs, it should not be cause for concern. Mehta tweets that Bridgewater is on schedule in his recovery from the catastrophic knee injury he suffered in 2016, and he may even be a little ahead of schedule.
If that’s the case, that could spell the end of Hackenberg’s time in New York. As Cimini indicates, Hackenberg’s days appear numbered, though the Penn State product would stand a better chance of sticking around if Bridgewater’s health remains in doubt. In an effort to jumpstart his career, Hackenberg — who has not taken a regular season snap in his first two seasons in the league — has recently revamped his throwing motion.
Even more interesting is the fact that Hackenberg made the change without consulting the team first, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv. As Bowles said, “[Hackenberg] hasn’t talked to me about it. He’s just worked on it and I learned about it after the fact.” Bowles also did not give a definitive answer as to whether the change in mechanics would help, or why Hackenberg waited to long to make the change.
Given Hackenberg’s pedigree — and perhaps his new mechanics, which he has worked on with quarterback guru Jeff Christiensen — he will certainly generate some interest if and when the Jets give him his walking papers. But it’s still a little too early to say whether he or Bridgewater will be the odd man out.
