The Jets’ preseason opener in 2026 is in the books. What was notable from this game? Here are my thoughts.
Cade Klubnik was solid.
There generally is an overreaction to rookie quarterback’s first preseason game. I’ll try and offer a reasonable take. The Jets didn’t put a ton of complex concepts on Klubnik’s plate, but you can only execute the plays you are given. Klubnik did his job effectively in limited action, completing 5 of 7 passing attempts for 56 yards. I didn’t see any glaring errors or ill-advised decisions so I think we can label this NFL debut a success.
I wish we saw more of Klubnik.
The Jets pulled the rookie after two series. I can’t say I agreed with the decision. I guess you could make the argument that with Geno Smith temporarily sidelined that Klubnik’s value as the backup quarterback makes him too important to risk with extended preseason action.
Here’s the thing. Klubnik’s primary job with the Jets this season if he takes the field won’t be to win games. It will be to develop. I think low pressure game reps against depth and practice squad players can have a real benefit. He is likely to succeed against this sort of competition, which can be a confidence boost. And preseason is a great place to learn professional passing concepts.
At the very least it would have been nice to see him get a chance to run a two minute drill instead of whatever the Jets were trying to do at the end of the first half.
I actually might prefer to keep Brady Cook as QB3 over Bailey Zappe at this point.
I’m as shocked to be writing that as you are to be reading it. That tells you a lot about how bad this night was for Zappe. I know one of his two interceptions was really Arian Smith’s fault. Still, his decision making was all over the place, and his throws were labored. Cook at least was able to make a few plays in the fourth quarter outside structure. Is there any chance Cook could pull that off against starting NFL defenses? Well, we saw him fail over and over trying it at the end of last season. At least I could take a few positives from what Cook did, though. I can’t say the same for Zappe. He started the night competing for the QB2 spot. He’ll need to play much better the next two weeks to even be considered as QB3.
Isaiah Williams started over Omar Cooper.
I’m not sure this is significant at this point, but I’m also not sure it’s insignificant. Is Williams about to blossom into a quality starting wide receiver? The recent reports from training camp have certainly been glowing. Is Cooper struggling to the point where he won’t see much playing time early in his rookie year? Are the Jets just trying to motivate Cooper? Will the roles be flipped next week? For his part, Cooper did have a big 26 yard catch right before halftime to set up a field goal. Then again, maybe it’s a bad sign that Cooper was on the field at that point of the game.
The NFL really needs to reconsider preseason.
This is as much about the rest of the league as it is this game. I thought the first half was fun. It was good to see the starters for a series. Then we got a look at rookies, key reserves, and developmental players. The deeper we got into the game, the more the quality fell. Eventually guys who will struggle to make these practice squads saw an appreciable number of snaps. It showed in the quality of play.
If you want to use preseason snaps to prepare your starters for the regular season, there’s value in preseason. If you want to get your key backups work in a game situation, again that makes sense. If you want to use the exhibition games to develop young players who might have a future on your team, I can see it.
But if we’re just giving snaps to guys who aren’t going to be in the NFL, I really have to question why we need three exhibition games. And if you’ve watched games so far this weekend across the league this has been a common theme.