If choking away a 16-point lead in the season opener wasn't enough, the Jets were hit with another annoying piece of news: second-year quarterback Sam Darnold will miss the Monday night showdown against the Browns with mononucleosis.
Adam Gase said that he personally delivered the news with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and a team trainer Wednesday night. Darnold was initially sent home Wednesday for what was believed to be strep throat, but further tests and failed antibiotics revealed mono.
"I just wanted to make sure it was delivered right," Gase said Thursday about why he chose to give Darnold the diagnosis in person. "I figured I could be the bearer of bad news on this one."
The news gets worse. Gase admitted that Darnold will likely be out multiple weeks, so it appears almost certain that he will not face the Patriots in Foxborough in Week 3, either. The silver lining, however, is that the Jets have a Week 4 bye.
So it looks like the earliest Darnold could return is for the Jets game in Philadelphia in Week 5.
Gase said that Darnold has already lost some weight _ about five pounds.
Trevor Siemian, who has 24 career starts with the Broncos, will be under center on Monday night. "We signed Trevor specifically for his 24 starts over his career with a winning record," Gase said. "He has a lot of experience. He's been on winning ball clubs. He has the respect of the locker room. The reaction I got and the way that guy's looked at it was, 'Let's go.' There's confidence there."
To potentially make matters worse for Gase & Co., star running back Le'Veon Bell will undergo a MRI for a sore shoulder that he suffered in the season opener. Gase seemed optimistic that Bell would be fine.
Linebacker C.J. Mosley (groin) and DL Quinnen Williams (ankle) will miss practice for a second consecutive day.
