Sam Darnold is maintaining a positive outlook during his recovery from mononucleosis with hopes of rejoining the New York Jets in Week 5.
Sam Darnold‘s season took an interesting turn for the worse when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Darnold told ESPN’s “The Michael Kay Show” that he hopes to be back on the field by Week 5.
“Obviously it was tough news, and at first I thought they were joking. I thought it was a sick joke,” said Darnold. “They didn’t crack a smile or anything, so I knew it was serious right away. I’ll never forget that night. It sucked. But the fact that Gase come over here and wanted to break the news to me himself, it was awesome to know that we have a head coach who’s a stand-up guy and he’s willing to do that kind of stuff for the team.
“It sucks but it is what it is. I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. I’ve just got to let it run its course and do everything I could to get better. Right after I heard the news I just started pounding Vitamin C and doing all of the little things that I could to try to get better.”
The Jets are benefitting from a bye in Week 4, but they will still have to play at least two games to play without their franchise quarterback. Their first contest without Darnold ended with three points for the Jet offense.
Backup quarterback Trevor Siemian was knocked out of the game on a late hit from Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. On Tuesday, the Jets announced that Siemian would miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
Washington State alum Luke Falk will take over under center in the meantime. Should the Jets stick with Falk in Week 3, his first start will come against the New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium. Oh yeah, the Patriots are coming off of a 43-0 beatdown of the Miami Dolphins.
The initial reaction to the Darnold news was one of despair for many fans. But with Darnold’s potential return as early as Week 5, things could be much worse.
