New York Jets rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik made history during his preseason debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Klubnik started the game in place of Geno Smith, who sat out due to a sore ankle on Friday, August 14.
“He joined J.J. Jones (1975) and Zach Wilson (2021) as the only rookie quarterbacks in franchise history to start the preseason opener, according to the Jets,” via ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Klubnik and the rest of the Jets’ starting offense were on the field for two drives in the preseason opener.
The first drive went 12 plays for 65 yards and resulted in a 27-yard field goal conversion by placekicker Cade York. The second drive went four plays for 48 yards and resulted in a 31-yard touchdown run by running back Braelon Allen.
Klubnik finished the day going 5-of-7 for 56 passing yards, averaging 8 passing yards per attempt. He was sacked once and had a 94.9 quarterback rating.
A Surprise Opportunity
After the game, Klubnik revealed to the radio Voice of the Jets, Bob Wischusen, that the first-team reps he received in this preseason opener were the first first-team reps he had received with the starters the entire offseason.
The general public found out that Geno Smith wasn’t playing in the game about an hour before kickoff. However, Klubnik revealed that he was informed of that news on Thursday, August 13, in the early afternoon.
“He was chomping at the bit,” head coach Aaron Glenn told the media when Klubnik was informed he would start the game.
“I thought he did a hell of a job. Not getting a lot of reps with the ones. So I give him a lot of credit for going out there and operating the way he did,” Glenn added.
That is exactly what Klubnik did; he operated. It lacked sizzle. There weren’t splash plays or SportsCenter-worthy stats in the box score, but he just appeared ready for the moment.
“The bigger surprise: how calm and cool Klubnik was in his NFL debut, even if it was against Buccaneers backups and in a preseason game. It might seem like nothing to get excited about, but consider the run of young Jets quarterbacks over the last decade. In this setting and in training-camp practices, you could see it with past QBs — misfiring on what should be easy completions, holding on to the ball too long and/or crumbling when pressure comes,” Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic wrote.
Grip Is Tightening
Klubnik has been the runaway favorite to win the backup QB job behind Smith all offseason. Nothing that transpired in Week 1 of the preseason changed that narrative for Klubnik. If anything, his grip on that job got even tighter.
He is competing with two other players: Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook. ESPN’s Rich Cimini said Zappe played so poorly that he “probably” cost himself his job. Cook was better than Zappe, but that isn’t exactly saying much.
Zappe finished 6-of-10 for 55 passing yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. He had a 35.4 quarterback rating and was sacked twice.
Cook finished 9-of-15 for 108 passing yards; he was sacked once and had an 82.1 quarterback rating. He also added eight rushing yards on one carry.
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