Having to start a quarterback who was on the practice squad a week ago is never a sign things are going right for your football team. But that’s exactly the situation the New York Jets are in now that Trevor Siemian has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury suffered on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns.
Siemian went down when he rolled out of the pocket and Browns’ defender Myles Garrett went for the sack, taking Siemian down awkwardly on the quarterback’s lower leg/ankle area.
The extent of the injury was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter:
Jets’ QB Trevor Siemian is out for the season with an ankle injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2019
Sure, there are success stories that start somewhat the same: like when an unknown backup named Kurt Warner replaced an injured Trent Green and led the then-St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl title.
Either way, Luke Falk is the Jets’ starter for the time being.
Furthermore, New York is again in a situation where they only have one healthy quarterback on the roster, meaning yet another QB-related roster move is sure to come before they take on the New England Patriots on Sunday in Foxborough on Sunday. Preferred starter Sam Darnold isn’t expected to be ready for at least a couple more weeks as he recovers from mononucleosis.
Siemian represented something a best-case scenario in terms of being put in a bad situation. His career 13-12 (including Monday night’s loss) isn’t all that bad for a backup quarterback. But that’s out the window now that Siemian is headed for the injured reserve list.
Falk wasn’t all that bad when he came in, at least statistically. The former practice squad member was 20-25 passing for 198 yards in his first regular-season NFL action. But, the game was heavily tilted in favor of the Browns by then, so much of that could have been a product of Cleveland being in a soft, prevent defense.
Luke Falk finished 20-25 for 198 yards. Said he felt comfortable given the circumstances. #NYJ pic.twitter.com/mNP5qNWS2G
— John Chandler (@JohnChandlerNBC) September 17, 2019
For Trevor Siemian, his fourth NFL season is all but over. His first three years were spent in Denver with the Broncos before the Jets signed him as the primary backup. Siemian started 24 games for Denver between 2016 and 2017. To date, Siemian has a career QB rating of 79.6 with a 30-24 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
