Joe Flacco to start for New York Jets vs. Dolphins

Sam Darnold isn’t ready to play just yet. The New York Jets will start veteran Joe Flacco at quarterback for the second straight week.

The shoulder injury that kept Sam Darnold off the field against the Arizona Cardinals will prevent him from playing once again this Sunday.

In a Wednesday press conference, New York Jets head coach Adam Gase stated Darnold will sit for the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Thus, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco gets the start for the second consecutive game.

#Jets HC Adam Gase speaking now.

Sam Darnold is out again. Joe Flacco will start.

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) October 14, 2020

Darnold suffered the injury in the midst of the team’s Week 4 Thursday Night Football defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos. The third-year quarterback exited the matchup for a brief period of time but returned to finish out the game. In his absence that evening, Flacco entered and completed either of his two pass attempts for 16 yards against his former team.

In Week 5, Flacco didn’t overly impress, completing 18 of his 33 attempts for 195 yards and one score in what was a 30-10 loss to the Cardinals.

The Jets signed Flacco in the offseason for this very reason though. He carries great NFL experience, having won the Super Bowl 47 MVP, and you can’t leave your team completely hung out to dry if your primary starting quarterback misses time.

Darnold has yet to play a full 16-game slate since entering the league. He missed three games during his 2018 rookie campaign due to a foot sprain. A mononucleosis diagnosis additionally sidelined him for a trio of matchups last year.

On Wednesday, Darnold provided an injury-related update.

Jets QB Sam Darnold gives an update on his recovery from his shoulder injury:
pic.twitter.com/CsO8h2Aj4u

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) October 14, 2020

“I’m progressing, just taking it one day at a time right now,” he said. “I feel like the shoulder is gaining a ton of range of motion…[I’m throwing], slowly but surely, getting back into it.”