The New York Jets are a mess. They cut away a large portion of their veteran talent this offseason and have no quarterback. Clearly, this is a team that is rebuilding.
Just don’t tell that to Buster Skrine, a veteran defensive back who is entering his third year with the Jets after spending his first four seasons with the perpetual rebuilding Cleveland Browns.
“You can’t rebuild in New York,” Skrine told Rich Cimini of ESPN. When Cimini aked him why, he quipped while smiling, “Because y’all will eat us up. Ain’t no rebuilding here. It’s getting right to the point. This is a competing team. We still have the players to compete.”
It’s easy to understand his logic, and it’s easy to understand why Skrine is so adamant about competing. In his six seasons as a pro, he’s experienced just one campaign on a winning team — the 2015 Jets team that barely missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record.
And to Skrine’s point, the Jets might not fall over and die completely this year, despite the obvious rebuilding process that has taken effect. With a defense that still features the likes of Leonard Williams, Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, Darron Lee and David Harris, New York will have the ability to win a few games and be very competitive in some others.
But without a quarterback — Josh McCown is the best option right now, with Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg nowhere near ready to start — New York is doomed to mediocrity or worse in 2017.
Even if the Jets do make a bold move to take one of the top quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft, none of them are ready to be thrown into the fire as a rookie starter in the Big Apple. Such an outcome would likely doom them to the same fate that befell Mark Sanchez.
Simply put, despite Skrine’s assertion that “you can’t rebuild in New York,” the Jets are forced to buck that trend. It’s a rebuild, people. No use trying to convince us of anything else.