For the winner of the Jets quarterback competition, that could be the only thing he wins for a while.
The Jets don’t have much help for their quarterback. The offensive line, despite the presence of D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, once again has buttfumble potential. The running back depth chart could be topped by a guy who was the odd man out for the Saints for two seasons, if he can get and stay healthy. And the receivers are, relatively speaking, old and/or broken down.
Not quite as old but still too broken down to contribute is Santonio Holmes. According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, the MVP of Super Bowl XLII has told friends he’ll miss at least four games of the 2013 regular season with a foot injury suffered in September 2012.
That could be enough to prompt the Jets to leave Holmes on the PUP list, which would shut him down for at least six weeks.
Without Holmes, the Jets have Stephen Hill, a second-year second-rounder with similar measurables to Calvin Johnson but only a fraction of the production, Braylon Edwards, Clyde Gates, Jeremy Kerley, and a flock of no-names. The tight end position is headlined by Jeff Cumberland and Kellen Winslow, who won a job via a minicamp tryout after a cameo with the Pats in 2012.
So maybe the smart play for Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez would be to tank it for now, and then hope that by the time the Week One starter gets benched, Santonio will be ready to play.