Sam Darnold Sees Himself As Part of Jets' Future: 'I Want To Be a Jet For Life'
While Sam Darnold's future in New York is as bleak as ever after Sunday's shellacking in Seattle, the Jets quarterback isn't letting speculation get in the way of his aspirations.
Not only does Darnold hope to stay with this franchise next year, in his fourth NFL season, but he wants to spend the rest of his career in New York. This tumultuous campaign won't change the way he feels about his future.
"I love it here. I love the people around here, I love living here. I've always said it. I want to be a Jet for life," Darnold told reporters in a conference call on Monday. "That decision isn't necessarily up to me, but that's how I feel."
The Jets quarterback had one of the worst games of his career on Sunday in a 37-point loss to the Seahawks at Lumen Field. The 23-year-old threw for only 132 yards, his third-lowest total in 35 career games. He threw zero touchdown passes for the fifth time in his last six games and while he didn't throw any interceptions, he should have. Seattle's defense, including ex-Jets safety Jamal Adams, dropped three interceptions over the course of the game.
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This organization is now three losses away from finishing the year with an 0-16 record. They're assured a top pick in the draft next spring and odds are, New York will have the No. 1 selection.
Even with presumptive top pick Trevor Lawrence looming as his potential replacement, Darnold is doing his best to focus on the job at hand. That starts with preparing for Gang Green's next opponent: the Los Angeles Rams.
"I'm not worried about speculation or what others are saying outside of our locker room," Darnold said. "For me, I'm just worried about playing good football down the stretch and taking it one day at a time and one game at a time."
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Jets head coach Adam Gase, after looking at the film of Sunday's obliteration, insisted that it wasn't completely Darnold's fault. Quarterbacks may often shoulder all the blame when a season isn't going well, but Gase emphasized that Darnold's performance is impacted by everyone else in the organization.
"Everybody’s got to do their job," Gase explained on Monday. "We need the linemen to do their job, backs do their jobs, tight ends, wide receivers. He can make the right decision on his reads, but he can’t catch it, can’t make the guys be in the right spots. Right now, I look at it going, if you’re looking at this from outside in, you’re not sure who’s supposed to be doing what, he’s the easy guy to blame, but we need everybody to be doing their job better."
Nonetheless, Darnold has consistently struggled in 2020 and the numbers keep getting worse. As Week 14 comes to a close, the former first-rounder is dead last among qualifying quarterbacks with a 67.3 passer rating. He's among the league's worst with 173.3 yards per game, a 58.4 completion percentage and 36.5 QBR. He now has a record of 11-24 in three seasons in the NFL.
Numbers aside, Darnold made it clear that his confidence won't be wavering any time soon.
"I believe in myself as a quarterback and a player in this league. Obviously that decision isn't up to me but I'm always going to believe in myself and have the upmost confidence in myself to play good football on Sundays."
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