The handling of quarterback Sam Darnold’s shoulder injury by New York Jets head coach Adam Gase should be a bigger story than it is.
Back in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, Darnold suffered an ugly-looking injury to his throwing shoulder. The quarterback was then put back in the game. Shortly after the game, Darnold was diagnosed with an AC joint sprain to his right shoulder.
The quarterback would go on to miss last Sunday’s blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals with Joe Flacco starting under center. We now have some more information on this. It’s not great.
Jets injury report: Sam Darnold’s injury forces him out again
This comes amid some suggestions that the Jets could look to trade Darnold after the 2020 season. While the former No. 3 pick has not been great since the Jets selected him back in 2018, a lot of this has to do with their lack of skill-position talent and Gase’s ineptitude as head coach.
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Remember, the Jets just released one of their best offensive players in that of Le’Veon Bell earlier in the week due to a spat with the above-mentioned Gase. Simply put, Sam Darnold has been set up to fail in New Jersey.
Impact of Sam Darnold’s injury
The Jets are already in the midst of a lost season heading into Sunday. They boast a 0-5 record and have been outscored by north of 17 points per game. Nothing Flacco did under center last week against the Cardinals changed this. There’s a decent chance these Jets go the entire 2020 NFL season without winning a game.
From a fantasy lens, there’s also not much more to look at here. The Jets are set to take on a pretty good Dolphins defense this coming weekend. They will be doing so with a backfield that consists of Flacco and ageless wonder Frank Gore. The two have been on this earth for a combined 73 years.
As for Sam Darnold, there’s no telling when he’ll return to action. An AC joint sprain can linger for up to two months.