Todd Bowles OTA Update (QB Edition)

Todd Bowles spoke to the media about the Jets QB situation on Tuesday.

On how Sam Darnold has looked throughout OTAs…
He has been progressing. Obviously installing the offense and putting in everything on defense, he is seeing things for the first time on both sides of the ball. As the days go by, he is getting more comfortable so we just have to keep working at it and getting better.

On Darnold taking reps with the starters…
We have thrown rookies in in the past with the starters. The defensive guys have done that as well. As the reps get up there, you put teams in with Josh (McCown) and Teddy takes turns with the first team, second team and third team. Sam took some today. It is nothing to read into.

On Darnold getting more reps than the other quarterbacks…
The reps even up by the end of the week. Everyone is getting the same amount.

On how Bridgewater has looked over the four OTAs…
He has shown no signs of weakness with the knee. He is moving around and taking every rep and every snap like everybody else. So, he is progressing and getting better.  

On if this is the most excited he has been about the quarterback situation since he has been with the Jets…
I think from a chemistry standpoint with the three around each other, it is the most together from an experience standpoint and a young talent standpoint that we have been in the room. We think we have three good quarterbacks that we can play with and just look and see how much better they can get going forward.

On Darnold being able to learn from the other quarterbacks…
I think it helps a great deal. He is getting preseason reps right now once he gets the offense down. Right now, I think it is big for him to take the tips that they are giving him and see the things that they are doing going forward so that when it gets to training camp, he doesn’t have to think as much and he can go full speed ahead.

On if letting someone have first-team reps helps give him a sense of what they can do…
Not at this time. We are learning, everyone is learning, so at this time it does not.

On why chemistry is important in the quarterback room…
They all see different things. And if they all can give each other advice on the field about what they saw on certain plays and they all understand the plays that are going on, if they can feed off of each other and take each other’s advice, I think it can’t help but catapult the chemistry to a better level and help those guys play better.

On if there is anyone who has come back from last year looking different in a good way…
McCown always comes back in pretty good shape. He takes care of his body to a great degree. I think (Brian) Winters looks a lot better than he did last year dealing with a lot of things, and everybody else is status quo.

To read the full transcript please visit our New York Jets forum.