New York Jets QB Sam Darnold out, Joe Flacco to start Sunday (Report)

Sam Darnold will not be playing his first full 16-game slate in 2020. The New York Jets quarterback is out for Week 5 with a shoulder injury.

The New York Jets are making an injury-related quarterback switch for their Week 5 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Jets are starting veteran Joe Flacco on Sunday. This is due to Sam Darnold‘s lingering shoulder injury.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter additionally reports Darnold will sit out the game.

#Jets expected to go with Joe Flacco as the starter this week, sources say.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 7, 2020

Sam Darnold is out Sunday vs Cardinals and Joe Flacco will start at QB for the Jets.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 7, 2020

Darnold suffered the setback during last Thursday’s Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos. He exited the game but eventually returned and finished out the defeat. In Sam’s brief absence, Flacco took four offensive snaps against his former employer, completing either of his two pass attempts for 16 yards.

Flacco hasn’t started a game since Week 8 of last year, a game in which he and the Broncos came up short against the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 15-13. He suffered a neck injury in that very contest, which led to the Broncos placing him on injured reserve.

Darnold is now missing time for the third consecutive year. During his 2018 rookie campaign, the former first-round pick missed three games due to a foot sprain. A mononucleosis diagnosis then sidelined him for the same amount of time in 2019.

Besides Flacco, the Jets additionally employ quarterback James Morgan, a rookie out of Florida International who they drafted in April’s fourth round. Sixth-year pro David Fales and second-year pro Mike White are also on the practice squad should the Jets wish to promote one of them for depth purposes.

Expect the Cardinals to really utilize the pass rush against an unathletic Flacco. Arizona is currently tied for eighth in the league with 11 total sacks on the year.