The Jets end their QB competition, naming Josh McCown the starter.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Josh McCown will start at quarterback in the New York Jets’ regular-season opener at Buffalo after beating out Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty.
Coach Todd Bowles announced his decision Monday, ending a strange training-camp competition.
McCown, 38, was the assumed starter the moment he signed a one-year, $6 million deal in March, and that never changed despite the fact he played in just one series in a preseason game and led the Jets to a touchdown in the opener.
Hackenberg, a secondround pick last year, saw an increase in practice snaps and started the last two games. But he struggled mightily and made no real push to win the job over McCown. Petty, who was considered the third option, was solid in the preseason but left Saturday’s game against the Giants with a sprained knee.
In other pro football news:
• Denver will be without backup quarterback Paxton Lynch for several weeks because of a sprained right (throwing) shoulder suffered in the Bronco’s 20-17 exhibition victory over Green Bay on Saturday. Lynch’s injury leaves Denver in a quarterback quandary beginning with Thursday night’s preseason finale against Arizona, where the only other available QB aside from starter Trevor Siemian is undrafted rookie Kyle Sloter.
• Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for five games by the NFL because he leveled Kansas City running back Anthony Sherman in a preseason game. Burfict hit Sherman in the chest during a pass play in which he was not the intended receiver, knocking him to the ground.
• New York Giants backup defensive end Owa Odighizuwa was been suspended without pay for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
• Linebacker Reggie Ragland will get a fresh start in Kansas City after the Chiefs acquired the second-year player in a trade with Buffalo. In exchange, the Bills acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft. Ragland missed all of last season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during training camp.