Sam Darnold returns to practice with the Jets as he awaits clearance to play

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Sam Darnold was back practicing Wednesday and running the first-team offense. He’s still not cleared for contact but he could be by the end of the week.

Adam Gase sounded much more optimistic Wednesday than he did earlier in the week about Darnold playing Sunday against the Eagles. Darnold still has to jump some hurdles before he gets the green light to play after a bout with mono. He will undergo more tests Friday. If Darnold gets cleared, Gase plans to start him in Philadelphia.

“I like our odds better than what they’ve been,” Gase said. “Last week if we would have been playing a game, I would say it was really low. I like the fact that things have looked and progressed in the right direction. There’s some gray there still.”

Gase said Sunday is the cutoff for Darnold to be cleared and still be able to play. All of this could be gamesmanship. But Gase’s tone was far different before the Jets’ first practice after their bye week than it was on Monday when it sounded a lot less likely Darnold would play.

If Darnold doesn’t play, Luke Falk will get his second NFL start. Falk will get reps in practice as well to make sure he’s as sharp as possible if the Jets have to turn to him again.

Darnold has been cleared to resume doing more cardio and take part in non-contact activities. He still can’t lift weights or get hit. But Gase wasn’t concerned about Darnold’s strength level or anyone hitting him in practice. Teams always protect their quarterbacks.

“No one is going to touch him today I promise you that,” Gase said.

The second-year quarterback appeared to be wearing extra padding under his red practice jersey Wednesday as he participated in his first practice in nearly one month. It was just the third day he’s been allowed to throw a football since being diagnosed with mono a few days after the Jets’ season-opening loss to Buffalo.

Darnold has been working on getting his timing and conditioning back in case he plays.

“He looked like himself,” receiver Robby Anderson said. “He looked good. He looked confident. I feel like he connected pretty much on everything. You can tell he’s excited to be back. He’s putting in a lot of extra work so that’s a good sign.”

The Jets offense was bad with Darnold — they accounted for eight points in Week 1 — and has been dreadful without him. The offense has produced just three points the last two games. But at 0-3, Darnold’s return could give the team the jolt it needs. But the Jets are not going to put him in harm’s way for one game.

The main concern is Darnold developed an enlarged spleen, a common symptom of mono. He will not be permitted to play if it doesn’t get smaller.

“That’s why we have the doctors, trainers,” Gase said. “I’m going to lean on those guys to tell me what’s safe. If it wasn’t safe they’re going to tell me.”

As much as Gase wants to have his franchise quarterback running the offense, he continues to say this will be a collaborative decision, and that general manager Joe Douglas as well as the doctors will have a big say in whether Darnold plays Sunday. Darnold will have some say, but not that much as he continues to push to get back on the field.

“That’s why it can’t just be one person,” Gase said. “Joe and those guys have to be involved. The training staff, the doctors. I know what he’s going to say. If it’s up to Sam I know what’s going to happen. That’s why Joe’s an important part of this.”

Gase said he would lean on Douglas and his staff because they’ll be able to pay closer attention to Darnold and monitor him while Gase is running practices.

“If it doesn’t look right, then we’ll go in a different direction,” Gase said. “The communication with [Darnold], the communication with the doctors, coaches, there’s a lot of people that are going to be involved in this conversation.

“Joe and his guys that’s what they do for a living. They’ll watch that and be very aware of, ‘How does it look? Does it look weird?’ How do we see it as coaches? It’s going to take all of us really checking our boxes saying we feel good about this.”