Jets place Bryce Petty on IR, which sets up very telling QB decision in Week 17
The New York Jets got their doors blown off and had their quarterback knocked out for the season against the New England Patriots on Saturday.
The Jets announced that they have placed Bryce Petty on injured reserve with a torn labrum, meaning he will miss the final game of the season. Petty suffered the injury while tackling Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler following a Jets fumble by Khiry Robinson in the second quarter.
That about sums up the Jets’ season right there. And the decision head coach Todd Bowles faces in the otherwise meaningless Week 17 home game against the Buffalo Bills will be pretty telling about the Jets’ QB situation.
They have two options for the final game — Ryan Fitzpatrick and Christian Hackenberg. That’s it, for now anyway. Hackenberg almost certainly will be active for the first time as a rookie, but will the second-round pick start? Bowles, whose job appears to be in serious jeopardy with the Jets losing six of their past seven games, has given no indication that the rookie QB is ready. But shouldn’t the Jets find out more about what they have heading into the offseason?
Fitzpatrick has started 10 games this season and almost certainly is heading into his final game as a Jet. Other than Bowles wanting to save face and perhaps preserve his job, why would he start Fitzpatrick? Yes, the game would mean something — a final chance to face the Bills and Rex Ryan in what could be his final game as Bills coach, and Fitzpatrick also spent a lot of time with the Bills in the past, too.
But other than sentiment and job preservation, the smart move might be to play Hackenberg. The Jets could lose and end up with a top-five draft pick, but there’s no guarantee that there’s one worth taking that high in the draft — or that GM Mike Maccagnan would want to sign off on the team drafting a QB for the fourth year in a row. But even in using second-round picks on Hackenberg and Geno Smith, a free agent after this season who could move on, and a fourth-rounder on Petty, the Jets have little to show for their selections.
In four starts (five games) this season, Petty completed 56.4 percent of his passes for 809 yards with three TDs and seven interceptions. Although he flashed some arm talent, the Jets can’t go into 2017 with him as the clear-cut starter.
This is a mess of a situation for whoever is coaching the team, and the results of Sunday’s game won’t make any big difference in what happens this offseason. But if the Jets don’t start Hackenberg, or play him extensively, they’re basically saying he’s not even close to being ready to contribute for this team.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
