Sam Darnold
AP Photo/Seth Wenig

The New York Jets will be without quarterback Sam Darnold for the foreseeable future after a mononucleosis diagnosis.

Things are going from bad to worse at 1 Jets Drive. On Thursday, New York Jets head coach Adam Gase told reporters that No. 14—Sam Darnold—would be missing time with mononucleosis.

“Fourteen has mono and will be out for this game,” Gase said. “Trevor [Siemian] will be starting and Luke Falk will get elevated at some point and be the backup. So that would be that.”

You can’t make this stuff up. There’s a chance that Darnold misses multiple weeks as he recovers from the “kissing disease.” When asked whether or not this would be a month-long recovery process, Gase mentioned the luck of having an early bye week.

It’s hard to say definitively, but a return in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles after a Week 4 bye seems like a possible target date for Darnold’s return.

Trevor Siemian, formerly of the Denver Broncos, will take over the reins from Darnold at quarterback. The four-year man out of Northwestern has 24 starts under his belt with a 13-11 record. Although losing Darnold is not the ideal situation, Siemian is a relatively solid backup to have.

After a debilitating Week 1 loss in which the Jets blew a 16-point second-half lead, the team needs to bounce back with a win against the Cleveland Browns.

Gase’s offense stalled out against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in the loss. The head coach even went as far as to call the offense “inept” in his Thursday press conference.

Darnold finished the game with 175 yards and one touchdown on 28-for-41 passing. He missed a few deep balls, but the gameplan was mostly conservative in nature.

The offense is already battered and bruised. Wide receiver Quincy Enunwa was lost for the season due to a neck injury.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.