When the Jets showed up for training camp Thursday, there remained one notable absence.
Rookie quarterback Sam Darnold was not with the Jets as he and the team still have not reached a contract agreement. There still is time for him to sign before the Jets take the field for their first practice Friday afternoon, but there remains a chance he could miss the start of training camp.
Darnold, the Jets’ pick at No. 3 overall in April, is one of two draft picks in the NFL who have not signed. The other is Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, the No. 8-overall pick.
It has become rare for rookies to miss time due to contract situations under the current CBA. The money is all slotted and fully guaranteed now, so there is little that can be negotiated. The Jets and Darnold are fighting over language in the contract. Teams like to have offsets in the contract. Players do not. Offsets protect a team if a player is cut then signs with another team. They can deduct a player’s new salary from what they owe him. If the contract does not contain offsets, players can “double dip,” meaning they collect the full amount their old team owes them, as well as what their new team pays them.
When Darnold signs, he will make approximately $30.6 million over four years, with a $20.3 million signing bonus. All first-round picks have a team fifth-year option attached to their contracts.
Besides offsets, teams and rookies also can haggle over how their signing bonus is paid out.
If Darnold misses time, that would hurt him in the competition to be the starter Sept. 10 against the Lions. Darnold is expected to challenge veterans Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater for the starting job.
The competition will be the story of Jets training camp, and it was one other players were talking about when they arrived Thursday.
“I think all three of these quarterbacks are phenomenal quarterbacks,” defensive end Leonard Williams said. “I think it’s great for all three of them to be competing with each other. I think it pushes each one of them individually. I would be happy if any one of them were the starter. … I trust any one of those guys.”
The Jets got to watch Darnold in the spring practices, and many of the veterans were impressed with what the 21-year-old from USC could do.
“Sam got a lot better,” center Spencer Long said. “Obviously, he was a wide-eyed rookie when he came in, but that’s how it should be. You should be a little nervous. Obviously, he cares. He wants to succeed. That’s why he came in a little tentative. But he’s continuing to grow. He’s made a lot of progress.”
Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse expects the quarterback competition to be a tight one.
“I think [Darnold] will be competitive,” Kearse said. “I think Teddy will be competitive, and I think Josh will be. All those guys have a competitive mindset. Playing with Josh, I know he’s a competitive guy. My locker’s next to Teddy. Just having a conversation with him, he’s highly motivated. I think it will be a really good run of competition at every position. I think this is going to be a very telling year for us.”
