Soon to be 38, Josh McCown is more than 10 years older than the other quarterbacks on his roster. He's thrown more touchdowns than Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg have combined in their careers.
But McCown, who signed with the Jets as a free agent in March, won't be handed the starting quarterback job this season.
And he's OK with that.
"It's full competition between the three of us," McCown said on a conference call Wednesday, addressing reporters for the first time as a Jet.
"All three of us will all approach it as trying to be 'the guy.' And I think that's good for our team, healthy for our team for us to compete as hard as we can. And so that'll be our mindset."
McCown made it clear, he wants the job. At this stage in his career, it's likely his last shot at being an NFL starter. That opportunity is a big reason why he came to the Jets. And in his perfect world, McCown would be named the starter during training camp and stay in that role until the end of the season.
"That's the goal," McCown said. "And I hope that's Hack's goal and Bryce's goal as well. You go in to compete and win the job, and if it changes, it changes."
McCown has a reputation as a great leader and locker room presence. One of the big reasons the Jets signed him was to help bring along the younger players _ including the quarterbacks.
McCown acknowledged that he'd be disappointed if he didn't claim the starting job. But no matter what happens, McCown believes he has a lot to give to both Petty and Hackenberg.
"I look forward to every day coming in here and working with Hack and Bryce and trying to give away the things I've learned in my career," McCown said. "And hopefully making their journies better as they go throughout their career.
"That's the goal and something I believe as a person and not just inside of football, but in every walk of life," McCown said. "If you can give away something that you know that will make somebody's journey better you're going to have a deeper sense of peace."
McCown said he reached that realization around age 31 when he played the 2010 season in the United Football League and spent part of the 2011 lockout coaching high school football. When he came back to the NFL in a mentorship role with the Bears, he suddenly started playing the best football of his career.
"There was something that really clicked," McCown said. "You don't know something as well as you think you do until you have to teach it. ... So for me, that's really the essence of what I want to do when I come into this building: give away what I can, because ultimately I feel like it helps me become a better player and then it's going to help Hack and it's going to help Bryce. And then as we compete, if they're at their best they're pushing me to be at my best. I think it hopefully makes our room better."
