Justin Fields and many Jets starters sat during the preseason finale against the Eagles.
That gave Brady Cook and the rest of the players on the bubble one final chance to impress Jets coaches ahead of Tuesday’s cut-down day.
However, the offense, much like last week, was stuck in neutral on Friday night.
Cook completed 9-of-13 passes for 48 yards and an interception against the Eagles. He and Adrian Martinez are both fighting for a 53-man roster spot. Martinez, who played in the second half, was the Jets’ lone captain for the game against the Eagles.
The Jets only gained 149 yards of total offense in the first half.
With it being likely the Jets will only keep two quarterbacks on their roster, either Cook or Martinez will probably be the team’s practice squad quarterback. Tyrod Taylor will be the Jets’ backup quarterback, but he had his knee scoped earlier this month and was ruled out for the preseason.
With the Jets’ Week 1 matchup against the Steelers nearly two weeks away (Sept. 7), the Jets needed to see if Cook or Martinez could potentially be the team’s backup quarterback if Taylor is not ready for action. The result was not ideal for the Jets’ first team offense.
With Cook engineering the offense, the Jets went three and out on their first two possessions. Then, on 3rd and 10 on their 41, Cook threw an interception to former Jet cornerback Parry Nickerson.
Cook’s best drive was the final one before halftime. He completed 3-of-5 passes for 47 yards and also rushed for 12 yards. That helped set up a 41-yard successful field goal by Nick Folk that made the score 6-3 at the half.
The Jets signed Cook as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Missouri. In his two preseason games against the Packers and Giants, Cook passed for a combined 136 yards and a touchdown.
Right tackle Armand Membou was the only projected Jets starter who played against the Eagles. He likely started and played against the Eagles because he needed the reps, as he’s a rookie.
However, Membou had a rough start to the night. He committed a holding call on the Jets’ first drive, which led to them punting. He was also flagged for a fault start call on the second drive. Membou only played two series before he was pulled for the night.
Jake Elliott converted two long first-half field goals, which gave the Eagles an early 6-0 lead.
With most of the Jets’ starters playing in the first two preseason games against the Packers and Giants, Jets coach Aaron Glenn thought that was enough for the preseason.
Now that the preseason is officially over for the Jets, they will need to trim their roster down from 90 to 53 men by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. However, the players who will be released will still have an opportunity to make the 16-man practice squad.
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