New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has a sprained foot and will likely miss the game against the Bills. Coach Todd Bowles claimed he didn’t know.
It is never a dull day in the land of the New York Jets.
We all saw Sam Darnold have a rough afternoon in Miami. He got knocked around and frankly didn’t play all that well.
But none of us were aware of this. Take a look:
#Jets QB Sam Darnold isn’t practicing today. He has a walking boot on his right foot. Darnold came up limping after a sack last week
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 7, 2018
During the game, none of us were aware of this. If he was hurting, it must not have been obvious enough for the cameras to take a look at. He also didn’t come out of the game so why would anyone pay attention?
So what is this? Now, all of a sudden Darnold is hurt? What is going on?
Then we see the release of the following:
#Jets QB Sam Darnold has injured right foot, likely to miss game vs. #Bills with Josh McCown making the start.
— Dennis Waszak Jr. (@DWAZ73) November 7, 2018
Story: https://t.co/0NJPo6cwLN pic.twitter.com/udCWZRCEz6
It becomes a bit more odd when you take a look at this separate tweet from Dennis Waszak of AP. Per Waszak, on Sunday Darnold said he was fine, on Monday he had bumps and bruises but he was fine, and then on Wednesday he was sidelined and in a boot.
If that’s not enough for a situation to be considered very “Jets”, take a look at this:
Todd Bowles said Monday he was unaware of any injury with Sam Darnold. He was either lying or ill-informed. Neither is a good look.
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) November 7, 2018
Say what? Todd Bowles was not aware of any injury? How could he not be? Does that even make sense? He consults with his assistants. He talks to his trainers. He visits with his players.
How could he not know? How?
First let’s unpack the quotes from Darnold.
There is no blame to put on the young quarterback’s shoulders. Those statements are ones that sound as if they were written for him. They almost sound corporate. With the circumstances as they are now, it’s difficult to take these statements at face value.
Now we move to coach Bowles. Again we talk about how he possibly could not have known. He meets with everyone in the organization. The players, the trainers, the coaches all stop with him. He’s at the top. The buck stops there.
If he really didn’t know, he is the most ignorant coach I have watched coach a team in over 30 years of watching the NFL. The other possibility is that he is lying through his teeth.
Either way, it’s more evidence that Bowles should not be coaching this team beyond the bye week. It’s over.
Enough.