PHILADELPHIA _ Bryce Petty stood tall in the pocket as the football left his hand. The pass _ a perfectly thrown spiral downfield to rookie Robby Anderson _ would be the Jets' only touchdown of the night.
But the dazzling play resulted in Petty's premature exit from last night's preseason finale against the Eagles. And it raised even more questions about his uncertain future with the franchise. Less than 14 minutes into the game, the third-string quarterback had to be taken to the locker room with a right shoulder injury.
Following his 44-yard completion that put the Jets up 6-0 late in the first quarter, Petty was rocked by end Bryan Braman. The backup quarterback was slow to get up and eventually went into the locker room after being checked out by trainers on the Jets' sideline.
Although it was announced in the press box that Petty was probable to return, he didn't return to the sideline after halftime and never returned to the game.
The final score _ a 14-6 win by the Eagles _ meant little to the Jets or their fans. The bigger issues were Petty's future, and how it relates to their roster decisions, as well as to Christian Hackenberg's slow progression.
After Petty (4-for-6, 87 yards) got hurt, the rookie quarterback entered on the Jets' next offensive series. The inaccuracy issues that plagued the Penn State product were on the full display.
Hackenberg followed up a decent showing last week against the Giants with a mistake-prone performance. He threw for only 54 yards, completing 9 of 21 passes in three quarters, but his biggest offense was his red-zone pick-6 that made it 14-6 Eagles in the third quarter.
An underperforming offensive line had the Jets' quarterbacks scrambling all night. But Hackenberg (11-for-31, 30.7 quarterback rating) compounded the issue by telegraphing his passes and rushing his throws.
Had he simply dirted the football on his pick-6, the offense would have been able to move on to the next play. But instead, Hackenberg threw a desperation heave that fell into the hands of safety Ed Reynolds, who ran it back 90 yards for the touchdown.
With four quarterbacks on the roster, Petty entered the game as the possible odd man out. But his shoulder injury, even if it isn't serious, inadvertently could provide general manager Mike Maccagnan with a solution to his quarterback problem.
The front office repeatedly has said that it's open to keeping Petty and Hackenberg in addition to starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and No. 2 Geno Smith. But Maccagnan could opt to place Petty on injured reserve, thereby stashing him within the organization without having to sacrifice a roster spot.
During an in-game appearance on CBS, Maccagnan was non-committal on the quarterback situation.
NFL teams must finalize their 53-man rosters by 4 p.m. tomorrow, and soon the Jets will make their decision known.
