The preseason is over and the Jets still have questions at backup QB and kicker
Jets quarterback Cade Klubnik scrambles during a preseason game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Friday. Credit: Ed Murray
The Jets had major question marks at two positions going into training camp. Those two spots, backup quarterback and kicker, remain unsettled with camp and the preseason now over.
Rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik was penciled in as Geno Smith’s backup. Jason Sanders beat out Cade York for the kicking completion. But in the Jets’ final preseason game on Friday against the Giants, Klubnik and Sanders hurt their status more than they helped it.
Klubnik may be demoted if the Jets acquire a more experienced backup, but the former Clemson QB will still be on the team.
Sanders, meanwhile, may be out of work very soon.
Three days after the Jets released York and special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said Sanders “has won the job,” the veteran kicker might have lost it.
Instead of securing his spot and showing the Jets they made the right choice, Sanders had two kicks on Friday and missed them both. He shanked an extra-point attempt wide left and his 54-yard field goal try was well short of the crossbar.
Teams have to submit their 53-man roster by 6 p.m. on Sunday. It’s very possible that the Jets’ Week 1 kicker isn’t on the team.
“Am I worried about it? Aaron Glenn said. "I didn’t like the fact that we missed these field goals, but the thing is we’re not going to panic and we’re going to make sure that we make the right decision to make sure we either fix those issues or we get the right person in here.
“But Jason [Sanders] has been good for us. He’s been good in practice. I’m going to evaluate that and see exactly what direction we’ll go.”
Sanders hasn’t been great in practice. Some would argue that York had the better camp albeit maybe by a smidge. There were days that both players missed at least two field goals in practice.
The Jets didn’t have to worry about their kicker last year. They had venerable veteran Nick Folk, who missed just one field goal and no extra points all season. The Jets didn’t re-sign Folk, who inked a two-year, $9 million deal with the Falcons.
Klubnik’s performance was a definite let-down. He was 6-for-13 for 59 yards and one badly thrown interception.
“Overall, not my best ball,” Klubnik said.
The Jets gave Klubnik every opportunity to win the QB2 job. But after a good debut in which he led two scoring drives against Tampa, Klubnik wasn’t able to push the Jets’ offense down the field.
They scored once on Klubnik’s last 11 series at quarterback, and that was helped by a Marcellino McCrary-Ball interception on Friday. The Jets started the drive at the Giants’ 36 and didn’t attempt a pass. They ran it 10 times, capped by a Chip Trayanum 1-yard score.
After saying how much they believed in Klubnik and were comfortable with him being the backup quarterback, Aaron Glenn acknowledged it’s no longer a sure thing.
“Me and Moug [GM Darren Mougey] are going to sit back and evaluate that,” Glenn said. “Listen, it’s not fair to myself, it’s not fair to him, it’s not fair to us as a team to sit there and make those statements right now. So, we’ll take a look at that and we’ll evaluate it and we’ll make the right decision going forward.”
The Eagles might be a team to watch if they make Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee available. The Jets had interest in both QBs during the offseason.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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