New York Jets: Grading Joe Douglas free agent signings
Backup quarterback (Grade: D)
Douglas resigned David Fales to a one-year agreement. His salary has not been disclosed yet, but it can’t be that expensive.
Fales had also been a backup quarterback under head coach Adam Gase while they were both on the Miami Dolphins, where he only played two games. Also, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Fales has not thrown a pass since his Miami days, which was the 2017 season.
The 29-year-old career backup has five NFL appearances (no starts) and has attempted a total of 48 passes in his four-year career (notice that he didn’t play in 2015 and 2018). And, he has only thrown one touchdown and one interception throughout his entire NFL career. Yes, it’s a small sample size and judgment should be reserved, but Fales’ resume doesn’t provide reassurance the Jets would be fine in Sam Darnold‘s absence.
| Year | Age | Tm | No. | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | 1D | Lng | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | QBR | Sk | Yds | NY/A | ANY/A | Sk% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 24 | CHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 26 | CHI | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 22 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 12 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 11.0 | 22.0 | 53.7 | 0.9 | 1 | 5 | 2.83 | 2.83 | 16.7 | |
| 2017 | 27 | MIA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 43 | 67.4 | 265 | 1 | 2.3 | 1 | 2.3 | 15 | 26 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 9.1 | 132.5 | 82.0 | 18.4 | 1 | 8 | 5.84 | 5.27 | 2.3 | |
| 2019 | 29 | NYJ | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 7 | -7.00 | -7.00 | 100.0 | ||||||||||
| Care | Care | 5 | 31 | 48 | 64.6 | 287 | 1 | 2.1 | 1 | 2.1 | 17 | 26 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 9.3 | 57.4 | 79.1 | 3 | 20 | 5.24 | 4.75 | 5.9 | |||||
| 2 yr | 2 yr | CHI | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 22 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 12 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 11.0 | 22.0 | 53.7 | 1 | 5 | 2.83 | 2.83 | 16.7 | |||
| 1 yr | 1 yr | MIA | 2 | 0 | 29 | 43 | 67.4 | 265 | 1 | 2.3 | 1 | 2.3 | 15 | 26 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 9.1 | 132.5 | 82.0 | 1 | 8 | 5.84 | 5.27 | 2.3 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/7/2020.
As for Mike White, there are no stats on him because he has not played a single minute at the professional level. So if you’re asking about how the New York quarterback depth is looking, it’s “not great, Bob!” Douglas should’ve tried to make a push for Marcus Mariota because the former Tennessee Titans first-round pick had starting and playoff experience. The fear of a QB controversy could have kept Douglas away from Mariota.
At this point, Douglas should try to add either Matt Moore, Drew Stanton, or Blake Bortles since they’re all unsigned and would re-enforce the quarterback position. All of these guys have played meaningful minutes in the NFL and have shown the ability to be solid game managers.
If the backup quarterback position is left as is and Darnold misses time, I would expect the team to be as bad, and if not worse, than what we witnessed last year. Hopefully, Douglas makes some adjustments to the quarterback depth and does not rely on Fales and White only.