Sam Darnold woke up feeling contagious, so he won’t be playing this week and Trevor Siemian will be starting at quarterback for the Jets when they host the Browns on Monday night.
Siemian signed with the Jets as a free agent this offseason and started 24 regular season games with the Broncos in 2016 and 2017. He found out Darnold has mono on Wednesday night, which bumped him back into a starting role and his referenced his previous experience during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve been there and done it a little bit,” Siemian said. “It’s been a while . . . I’m champing at the bit to compete and be out there with the guys. I’ll just say I feel comfortable.”
Siemian was 25-of-32 for 158 yards and a touchdown in the preseason.
Siemian said he wasn’t worried about Darnold’s absence being too big of a hurdle for the team to overcome because they’re “mentally tough” and “built to handle this.” Monday will show whether Siemian’s correct or if the Jets will be staring at 0-2 with the Patriots looming in Week Three.
