The Jets' inactive list for today's game against the Browns in rainy Cleveland contain several storylines.
The first storyline is the banged-up nature of the Jets' back seven on defense and line on offense, as anticipated from Friday's final injury report. LBs Darron Lee (ankle) and Bruce Carter (quadriceps) are inactive, while CB Buster Skrine (knee) will also sit. Julian Stanford will start alongside David Harris at ILB while Marcus Williams will take over Skrine's starting spot in the base defense.
On the O-line, Nick Mangold (ankle) is out, with Wes Johnson taking over the spot today. G Brent Qvale (neck) is also out, as is TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (ankle).
Then there is the matter of backup QB. With Geno Smith's season-ending knee injury moving Ryan Fitzpatrick back into the starting role, head coach Todd Bowles took all week to determine who the new No. 2 QB would be, an answer that he said he had on Friday but wasn't revealing.
Now it can be revealed: Bryce Petty will be Fitzpatrick's backup, with rookie Christian Hackenberg deactivated. Petty was also the No. 2 QB last year for the first four games behind Fitz until Smith returned from his broken jaw.
Final roster sidebar: WR Jeremy Butler, who was on the inactive list the previous two weeks, has been waived because Breno Giacomini was activated from the Physically Able to Perform List on Saturday. Giacomini will start at his right tackle spot
The Jets' full list of inactives today:
■ Christian Hackenberg
■ CB Buster Skrine
■ LB Darron Lee
■ LB Bruce Carter
■ C Nick Mangold
■ OL Brent Qvale
■ TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
The Browns' inactives:
■ QB Cody Kessler
■ QB Joe Callahan
■ WR Corey Coleman
■ DB Marcus Burley
■ OL Gabe Ikard
■ OL Jonathan Cooper
■ TE Connor Hamlett
As for the weather, it doesn't surprise Bowles, who left his first NFL coaching gig, as the Jets' secondary coach in 2000, to spend four years with Cleveland before working his way up the coaching ranks and back to the Jets as head coach. He got used to the bleak days that sometimes blew in off Lake Erie and visited Browns games.
And such is the case today. It's raining steadily now and hail was reported nearby. And thunderstorms and rain are in the forecast throughout the game with temperatures in the 50s and winds possibly reaching 15 mph.
