The New York Jets will be trimming the herd.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini released his 53-man roster prediction before training camp. In that column, he predicted that the only two quarterbacks who would make the final roster are Geno Smith and rookie Cade Klubnik.
That would mean that quarterbacks Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe would be shown the door.
Neither Player Has Made Any Hay
Cimini bluntly stated on the “Jets Collective” podcast that Cook hasn’t been a factor at all in the competition to determine who will be the QB2.
Last season, Cook appeared in five games and made four starts. He had an 0-4 record as a starting quarterback. The former Missouri product completed 57.5% of his passes, threw for 739 passing yards, and had a two touchdown to seven interception ratio.
Zappe has had a golden opportunity to lock down the primary position behind Smith, but he has also failed to do so.
In his career, Zappe has appeared in 15 games and has made nine starts. With those opportunities, Zappe has completed 62.1% of his passes, has thrown for 2,223 passing yards, and has a 12 touchdown to 14 interception ratio.
The good news is this is merely a hypothetical exercise, and Cimini doesn’t have the power to cut any players. There are three preseason games and ample practice time during training camp to alter their football destinies.
Final cutdown day in the NFL is Sunday, August 30, at 6 pm. By that moment, every NFL team must reduce its roster from 90 to 53 players.
You Better Hope You Are Right
Smith has been the unquestioned starter since the Jets acquired him in a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders.
However, the backup QB is an important role for any team, but especially the Jets. They have been forced to use multiple starting quarterbacks in 9 of the last 11 seasons. That backup almost inevitably always comes into play.
The Jets better be sure that Klubnik is ready for the spotlight.
Shortly after the 2026 NFL draft, I had the Play-by-Play Voice of the Clemson Tigers, Don Munson, on my show “Boy Green Daily.”
During our conversation, he bluntly told me that, in his opinion, Klubnik needs time to marinate at the NFL level before he gets thrown to the wolves. Munson told me it would behoove Klubnik to sit and learn for a few years.
In this scenario that Cimini laid out, that might not come to fruition. Klubnik would be just one injury, suspension, or poor performance away from being forced into the lineup.
In 2023, the Jets acquired future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers. The plan was to start Rodgers all season long and allow former No. 2 overall pick QB Zach Wilson to learn behind him without ever having to step on the field.
Four snaps into that season, the plan suddenly changed, and Wilson was ready to play, according to the coaching staff. Spoiler alert, he wasn’t ready.
This would be a double-risky move by the Jets. Firstly, to only keep two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Secondly, the only two being 35-year-old Smith and a rookie.
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