Jets’ newly signed practice squad QB Trevor Siemian ‘just a fly on the wall right now’
Trevor Siemian said the conversations with the Jets about joining the team’s practice squad started about a week ago and after a couple of phone calls back and forth, the 31-year-old quarterback is back in Folsom Park after signing this week.
But with Zach Wilson the starter in place of the sidelined Aaron Rodgers and Tim Boyle now serving as the backup on the active roster, Siemian talked about taking time to learn a new offense and indicated in his first comments to the media on Wednesday that he “didn’t have a lot of expectations” about playing time with Gang Green.
“No promises were given or anything like that,” Siemian said. “These guys have two quarterbacks, they needed a third quarterback. I had some good conversations so here I am. So, I’m excited to get to work.”
The 31-year-old quarterback said he is familiar with New York passing game coordinator Todd Downing and it appears the Jets passers have a “great time” in the QB room, but he is “just a fly on the wall right now.”
“Looking forward to getting to know these guys a little bit,” Siemian continued, “and really try to be the best teammate I can for Zach, for Tim, all these guys really.”
When asked what he meant by being the best teammate for Wilson, Siemian said “being a resource for him.”
“It’s a lot of times the starting quarterback has a lot going on,” he continued. “He’s getting great coaching, I know that. Whatever I can do to help him. [I’ve] played a few games in the league, maybe I offer a different perspective on things. But, again, right now I’m just a fly on the wall in there and try and learn everything as quickly as I can.”
Siemian began his career in Denver where he was a seventh-round pick in Peyton Manning's final NFL season. The next year, the former Northwestern signal caller was under center as the Hall of Famer's following act. A pressure-filled job that Wilson now has thrust upon him with Rodgers done for the season.
“Zach gets it, he knows there’s no pressure like the pressure you put on yourself,” Siemian said about the pressure of filling in for an all-time great. “Zach’s wired the right way it seems, still getting to know him. I don’t think you think about that. I think Zach is doing a good job.
“For me, I was not gonna try and be Peyton Manning. I was gonna try and be Trevor Siemian.”
For now, Siemian said his next task is digging into a new playbook, something the veteran who has been with seven different teams from training camp and preseason rosters to practice squads and active rosters over his nine-year career.
“It’s not my first time learning a new system, I think as a backup quarterback those are some of the things you get used to pretty quickly,” he said of the new playbook.
Siemian said there are some familiar concepts in the Jets’ offense and there is “a lot of carryover” from the Chicago Bears’ offense he worked in a season ago. But he said it is “tough to say” how long it would take for him to pick up the full offense.
“I couldn’t give you a week or two weeks [as a timeline],” Siemian said with a shrug of his shoulders and a shake of his head. “As a backup quarterback in this league, it’s kinda your challenge how fast you can pick things up.
“And I’m anxious to get started, get the verbiage, get to know my teammates a little bit. Definitely not overnight."
