The New York Jets are heading into training camp with a clear eye on the quarterback depth chart, and rookie Cade Klubnik is already making his case.
Fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik is in the mix for the QB2 job, and head coach Aaron Glenn said Thursday that the Jets are drawn to more than just the arm talent. Glenn pointed to the way Klubnik handled the rough stretches of his college career as a reason the team believes in him.
“We know the hills that he’s had in his college career,” said the head coach. “We’re intrigued by him because he was able to bounce back and continue to go.
To me, that shows leadership, too. When things went down, he kept going.”
Klubnik’s leadership has shown up early in camp, too. From the start of rookie minicamp, he was organizing impromptu rookie run-throughs in hotel hallways and conference rooms, a small but telling sign of how he’s been carrying himself since arriving.
At this point, the rookie appears to have the edge in the battle with Bailey Zappe. Klubnik is a fourth-round selection, which makes him a strong bet to land on the 53-man roster no matter how the preseason shakes out.
Zappe, meanwhile, is working from a different place. The Jets signed him to a futures deal in January, but the team doesn’t have the same kind of investment in him that it does in Klubnik.
That means the preseason doesn’t have to be a knockout win for the rookie to stick. If the gap between Klubnik and Zappe is small and leans toward the veteran, the Jets could still choose Klubnik and keep the extra roster spot elsewhere.
But if Klubnik struggles badly enough that he looks out of place against NFL backups, then the conversation changes.
For now, though, the Jets seem to be hoping the rookie settles in and looks like someone who can run the offense comfortably. That’s the real summer test: show he can be trusted as Geno Smith’s backup.
And the Jets at least have one thing working in their favor. Smith has not been the kind of quarterback who misses a lot of time, having sat out just four combined games since taking over as the Seattle Seahawks’ starter in 2022.
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