Josh McCown. He’s a 38-year-old journeyman quarterback who has started 60 games in his NFL career. This is despite the fact that, at best, he’s an objectively mediocre player since entering the league back in 2000 as a third-round pick out of SMU.
In those 60 starts, McCown has managed to win 18 games.
Over the course of his career, he has completed under 60 percent of his passes, throwing 79 touchdowns and 69 interceptions.
Even more notable, in McCown’s most recent 20 starts, he’s 2-18 with 29 touchdowns and 24 interceptions — clearly regressing with age.
The New York Jets, clearly tanking this year, brought him in to — at best — be a bridge to their young project quarterback, Christian Hackenberg. Though, as we found out during Thursday morning’s Mike & Mike on ESPN, he doesn’t like that term.
"If that's the case, I'm gunna be a dang good bridge."
QB Josh McCown talks about his role on the Jets in today's @MyStraightTalk moment: pic.twitter.com/HoyqsD8V3r
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) July 20, 2017
What’s crazy is that McCown is actually the best option the Jets have on their roster.
Hackenberg, even in college, was horribly inaccurate. That hasn’t changed now that he’s a professional (as local media knows from experience), and one scout was absolutely floored at how bad he was last year in the preseason upon a look back at the tape this offseason.
Worse still for both McCown and the Jets is the fact that there isn’t a ton of NFL-ready talent on offense this year, either.
At this point, we’re just hoping the bridge stays upright during the 2017 season. McCown is one of the really good guys in the league. It would be awful is his season was spent in the trainer’s room, rather than on the field.