Sam’s starting news brings mom to tears
Sam Darnold made a predictable first call upon hearing the news Monday that he would indeed be the Jets’ Week 1 starting quarterback. He dialed up his parents. “They were just excited,” Darnold said on Tuesday. “Mom was crying… as usual. My dad was just pumped for me. He just said, ‘This is what you worked so hard for.’ So, it was a cool little moment there with them and my sister. It was fun.”
Darnold will have a daunting challenge ahead, but he’s understandably excited.
“As a football player, whether it’s Pop Warner, whether it’s high school, college or now the NFL, your dream is to play the game,” Darnold said. “That’s what I want to do. I just want to go out there and play every single day. If Josh (McCown) did get the nod, I was going to be pumped for him and I was going to be the best backup that I could be. Now that I know that I am starting, it is just an amazing feeling.”
McCown, who has been a willing mentor all offseason, wasn’t exactly shocked by the news that he’ll be the backup this season.
“As a competitor, you’d love to play, but I kind of understood which direction it was headed,” McCown said. “I’m excited for our team and excited for the future.”
Darnold will become the youngest Week 1 starting quarterback since the NFL-AFL merger at 21 years, 97 days old on Sept. 10 against the Lions.
“It’s cool,” Darnold said. “It’s awesome to be able to go in here. First of all, I know that I haven’t done anything yet. I haven’t won any games in the NFL, so I just got to go out there and do my job. But knowing that I am young compared to a lot of the other starting quarterbacks, I just know that, for me, I think that’s more of just affirmation, knowing that I got a long way to go. So, I know that I just got to continue to work every single day. Put my best foot forward for the team, for the organization and just go out there and be consistent.”
Todd Bowles is fully aware of the inevitable growing pains, but he doesn’t think Darnold will be spooked by playing his first career game on the road in a noisy dome.
“I don’t think it’s very difficult,” Bowles said. “He’s been playing football all his life. He’s not just coming fresh out of the womb and just grabbing the ball for the first time . ... He’ll be fine.”