EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik started in his NFL debut in place of Geno Smith and led scoring drives on each of his two series in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.
Smith was expected to start, but sat out because of a sore foot, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn said earlier this week that “everybody's playing” in the
game — and that included Smith, who is expected to be New York's starting quarterback when the regular season begins. He didn't show any signs of an injury during the team's joint practice with Tampa Bay on Wednesday, but the team decided to rest him against the Buccaneers, who played their backups.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t announce the reason Smith wasn’t starting. NFL Network and ESPN first reported the decision to sit Smith.
Klubnik, working with the starting offense, completed a 12-yard pass to Mason Taylor to start the 12-play, 55-yard drive. The fourth-round pick had two completions to Garrett Wilson to convert on third-down plays to get the Jets deep into Buccaneers territory. He threw incomplete to Wilson in the end zone on third down and New York settled for a 27-yard field goal by Cade York to take a 3-0 lead.
With the starters done after one series, Klubnik stayed in with the backups and again helped lead the Jets to a score. He completed a 5-yard pass to first-rounder Omar Cooper Jr. and then Braelon Allen ran on three straight plays — capped by a 31-yard dash into the end zone to make it 10-0.
Klubnik finished 5 of 7 for 56 yards. He was replaced by veteran Bailey Zappe.
Klubnik is competing with Zappe and Brady Cook for a backup role behind Smith, with a chance to win the No. 2 job. Klubnik threw for over 10,000 yards and 73 touchdowns with 24 interceptions in 49 games, including 40 starts, in four seasons at Clemson.
He's coming off a disappointing season during which Clemson went 7-6 for its worst record since 2010. Klubnik's play also dropped a bit statistically last season, leading him to be the fifth quarterback drafted in April, following Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck and Drew Allar.
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