LET SAM STAND PAT!

If Jets QB is anything less than 100%, he shouldn’t play vs. N.E.

Sam Darnold is competitive, tough and crazy enough to play with two broken feet let alone one measly strained one, so it was hardly surprising that this was the first word out of his mouth Monday when asked if there’s a silver lining to his injury that has allowed him to catch his breath the past couple weeks: “Nah.” The centerpiece of the Jets universe was a bystander during Monday’s practice, prompting inquiring minds to wonder whether he’ll be back to face The Evil Empire, a.k.a the New England Patriots, this weekend. Darnold shed his walking boot a week ago after suffering a foot strain Nov. 4 in a loss in Miami.

Todd Bowles declared the rookie quarterback “day-today, week-to-week” which didn’t quite shine a light on the kid’s availability, but know this: The Jets should not – and will not – take any chances with the most important piece to their puzzle. If Darnold isn’t fully recovered from this annoying injury — and believe me, it’s been a nuisance — he won’t play.

Frankly, it makes no sense to throw Darnold to the Hoodie’s wolves if he’s not back to brand, spankin’ new.

Playing Darnold at anything less than exactly 100 percent would be football malpractice.

We know that the kid wants to be out there. His competitiveness and drive are big reasons why the Jets went all-in with him in the first place, but sometimes you have to save the player from himself. That’s not to say that Darnold absolutely should be ruled out in the first game back from the Jets’ bye.

If he proves to the trainers and medical staff that there are no residual issues, then go full speed ahead. But if there’s even a sliver of doubt, the conservative approach would be the smartest one for a 3-7 team that is on track to miss the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.

“I feel really good,” Darnold said Monday. “I’m just following protocol right now. It feels really good. I’ve been walking around it fine. So, it’s just stable progressions throughout the week.”

Although Bowles said that he truly doesn’t have a gut feeling about Darnold’s availability for practice on Wednesday, there have been some encouraging signs since we last saw Darnold on the field.

“I have started jogging,” Darnold said. “It feels good. It feels great. So, nothing for me to complain about. No pain, either.”

It’s obvious that the dude wants to get back out there for the first time since his fourinterception performance two weeks ago. The Jets would have a more serious issue on their hands if he was content on the sideline.

There’s no substitute for actually playing, but Darnold admitted that he extracted something worthwhile from watching veteran Josh McCown prepare and play against the Bills in Week 10.

“I want to be out there. I want to be out there playing with the guys,” Darnold said. “(But) the biggest thing for me was just watch Josh go about a game week. Watching him on the field, watching him on the practice field helped me out of a lot. In terms of that, it was good. But I definitely want to be out there with my guys.”

Darnold spent the bye week rehabbing, watching some film and getting a sobering lesson about Northeast winters that included a five-mile trip that took 2 ½ hours in the snow. He said that he “reset my mind” with an eye toward the final month and a half of the season.

“I knew when I got back (Monday),” Darnold said, “I

was going to get after it.”

Despite Darnold's rollercoaster season, folks on One Jets Drive remain as encouraged as ever about him. His statistics (11 TDs, 14 INTs, 68.3 passer rating) have belied his improvement from the first day he walked into the building. People at all levels of the organization envision a time when Darnold will be a true difference maker.

“He's going to be a star,” one team insider told me.

Darnold's self-evaluation revealed some good, bad and ugly, but he's moving in the right direction.

“Throughout the year, I feel like I've been progressing and getting better,” Darnold said. “Yeah, the Miami game: It wasn't a step in the wrong direction. It was just a little bump in the road, I think. Other than that, I've been continuing to improve every single week and I'm going to try to do that if I get the chance to play.”

There's no doubt that Darnold would love to test himself against the best of the best this weekend.

“The idea of going up against (Tom Brady) and the Patriots and Coach Belichick… it's a cool thing,” Darnold said. “Especially with me growing up in the era where they've really controlled the whole NFL for the most part.”

Watching Darnold play is one of the few things that frustrated diehards can cling to for the rest of the season. It would indeed be cool to watch him face Brady and Belichick.

Only if there's no shred of doubt that he's completely healthy.