Jets' GM Joe Douglas Isn't Committing to Quarterback Sam Darnold

Just two months ago, Jets general manager Joe Douglas referred to Sam Darnold as New York's "quarterback for the future." Now, with the offseason underway, Douglas is isn't committing to Darnold for 2021 and beyond.

Addressing the media via Zoom on Tuesday, Douglas commended the quarterback, saying Darnold is "going to be a great quarterback," but explained that whoever takes over as the Jets' new head coach will have a major say in who is under center next season.

"Sam has a very bright future in this league," Douglas said. "We're going to get a head coach in here, we're going to get together, we're going to talk about quite a few decisions. I'm excited about Sam."

Douglas, CEO Christopher Johnson and the Jets parted ways with Adam Gase on Sunday. Since that decision was made, both Douglas and Johnson have made it clear that the first order of business this offseason is finding Gase's replacement. 

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After going through a "broad and deep search," finding the right individual among a slew of candidates to lead this team back to contention, only then will the decision on Darnold's future be made.

"Any major decision we have going forward, in terms of the roster and in terms of free agency, draft, anything, our new head coach is going to be a big part of that moving forward," Douglas explained. 

Douglas did defend the Jets quarterback for his lack of production this season, saying the 23-year-old faced a plethora of obstacles, namely injuries. The quarterback had a different offensive line protecting him practically every week and didn't have all three of his starting wide receivers available until Week 9.

Darnold finished the season with the worst QBR (40.7) and passer rating (72.7) of all qualified quarterbacks across the NFL.

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"[He dealt] with COVID and frankly, we had quite a few injuries," Douglas said. "I do think you saw in the month of December, Sam played a lot of good ball. We were able to beat two playoff teams and a lot of that is because of the way Sam played. Like I've said before, I really think that Sam truly does have a bright future in this league as a 23-year-old quarterback and Sam's still going to get better every year."

Even with that praise and optimism about Darnold's future, Douglas had multiple opportunities to definitively state New York's plan for the young quarterback. He chose not to.

When you compare that to his comments on Tuesday regarding Marcus Maye—Douglas said re-signing the safety is "going to be one of the priorities of our offseason"—it sure seems like he's preparing to go another direction. 

If it's any consolation, Johnson told reporters on Monday that he hopes Darnold returns in 2021. And Douglas doesn't have to worry about Darnold wanting to be elsewhere—Darnold reiterated this week that he wants to be a "Jet for life."

Nonetheless, New York will have an opportunity to select Darnold's replacement with the second pick in next spring's NFL draft. The organization's new head coach may look to start fresh at the position, making a splash in the draft and trading Darnold as one of their first moves in charge.  

Clemson's Trevor Lawrence may not be available, but the likes of Zach Wilson out of BYU and Ohio State's Justin Fields certainly warrant consideration.

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Douglas didn't say if he thought Darnold regressed, nor did he reveal his preference of who should be the Jets quarterback next year. When asked if his comments were designed to purposefully be ambiguous, as he needs to wait until a new head coach is hired and can provide their opinion, he concurred. 

"I would definitely agree with that assessment," he said.

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