Sam Darnold Won’t Be ‘Superman’ as He Rehabs from Mono

The New York Jets will welcome quarterback Sam Darnold back into the fold this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Sam Darnold has missed the first four games of the Jets season with mononucleosis. While the 0 – 4 Jets desperately need him, Le’Veon Bell warned that he’s not a panacea for all their problems.

He will be a definite upgrade on Trevor Siemian and Luke Falk under center. However, injuries, poor play-calling and a sloppy offensive line have all hampered the Jets.

Star running back Le’Veon Bell said this week that the rest of the team still has to do their jobs to aid Sam Darnold. 

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“Obviously, everybody still has to play football,” Le’Veon Bell told reporters Wednesday.

“We can’t expect Sam just to go out there and be Superman. We know he’s a great player and he can make a lot of plays but guys still got to do their jobs.

“They still got to protect him, still got to make plays for him. We’ve got to make sure we get all the calls in. Everybody’s got to line up and make his job easier, so he doesn’t have to get too much. He has to shake off a little rust, you know?”

The second year quarterback will certainly be more adept at implementing Adam Gase’s system. However, it will take some time before he is back to his previous level.

As Bell underlines, training is one thing, but the matchday intensity will take a while to recover.

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“He hasn’t really played the last three, four games. Plus we had the bye. He hasn’t been practicing. He hasn’t been hit, nothing like that,” Bell said. 

“It’s going to be him playing football, just getting back to his mode, making throws, seeing the timing, guys’ running speed and stuff like that.

“When he gets back in a game, I’m sure he’ll be ready.”