When a team is holding a competition for a job, one doesn’t really expect to hear one of the competitors extolling how quickly a younger player is coming along.
Jets quarterback Josh McCown has been seen as an ideal mentor for a younger player for several seasons, however, and one of the reasons why is that he’s willing to say when his teammates are doing well. That’s what he did on Tuesday when asked about rookie Sam Darnold’s work during the opening practice of minicamp.
“Every day I feel like he goes out and gets better,” McCown said, via the New York Post. “I think for all of us, but really for young players, you’re discovering something new every time you step on the field.”
McCown took the most first-team reps on Tuesday with Darnold getting more than Teddy Bridgewater, although head coach Todd Bowles suggested one shouldn’t read too much into that pecking order. That will be a harder case to make in August, especially if Darnold begins to cut into McCown’s edge.