The New York Jets have a clear vision of the future, that's why they deemed Teddy Bridgewater expendable last week. The premise of internal competition can be a driving force for a young quarterback, but the Jets' franchise have decided to hedge their bets on the 21-year old rookie while clearing out his competition for the starting job. They made Sam Darnold the youngest ever opening day starter in league history. To be specific, Darnold will be 21 years, 97 days old when the New York Jets line up against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night.
The announcement itself isn't exactly groundbreaking news. As the preseason progressed it became painfully evident the Jets would resort to their rookie QB, especially after shipping out Teddy Bridgewater, the only player you could discriminately argue outplayed the rookie in preseason play, and not by much. Out of the 12 possessions the projected offensive starters have played in the preseason, Darnold has taken snaps for 9 of them.
Darnold's NFL orientation will be a difficult one as the Jets play three games within the first 11 days of the 2018 NFL schedule.After the Monday night opener in Detroit, Darnold and his 'mates will square off against the Miami Dolphins the very next Sunday, only to play their 3rd game two days later for a Tuesday night matchup against the Browns.