New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold will undergo another round of tests to determine his status for the team’s Sunday game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“If he gets cleared, he’ll start,” Jets coach Adam Gase said of the second-year quarterback, who has been at an enhanced risk of sustaining a ruptured spleen as he works his way past mononucleosis.
The Jets have sputtered in Darnold’s absence, recording just nine offensive points over the last three games while seeing the team’s record plummet to 0-4 for the first time since 2003. New York’s 30-14 loss at New England on Sept. 22 featured cornerback Arthur Maulet’s fumble return for a touchdown and safety Jamal Adams’ 61-yard interception return.
“The defense is playing good, the special teams is playing good,” Gase said. “We all know what group needs to play better. That’s on me. So I told those guys in there, I’ll get it fixed. It’s on me, it’s on nobody else, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Darnold started Week 1 but wasn’t feeling 100 percent due to a fever and weight loss. He found out the next day he was dealing with mono and was shut down indefinitely. Contact is dangerous because of an enlarged spleen often caused by the illness.
Trevor Siemian started Week 2 but left with a season-ending ankle injury, clearing the way for Luke Falk to finish the game against the Cleveland Browns and start the Sept. 22 loss to the Patriots.
Falk finished 15 of 26 for 120 yards and two interceptions in New York’s 31-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
— Field Level Media
