The Jets gave Cade Klubnik an opportunity to win the backup quarterback job and the rookie passer took advantage of his chance with a strong summer. On Monday, HC Aaron Glenn told reporters Klubnik is the Jets' QB2 and added that "he'll do a good job" behind Geno Smith.
"It's just the confidence in how he operates and what he's done in practice, what he's done in the games," Glenn said before a mid-afternoon practice. "I don't think anybody ever said there weren't going to be hiccups. He's a rookie, but he's always learning. But he's a very intelligent guy, listen, we're proud that we have him and he's improved over the course of training camp and he's going to continue to improve. That room throughout training camp was a room we kept a close eye on just to see how those guys operated and Cade has done a really good job for us."
Klubnik appeared in all three preseason games and started two, completing 21-of-34 (61.8%) of his passes for 190 yards with 1 INT. In his starts against the Buccaneers and the Giants, he led the offense on three scoring drives which resulted in 17 points.
"I think that camp and all of the preseason has been great," Klubnik said Friday night following the Jets' preseason finale. "I've loved it. I love that we have preseason games. I loved the way that we do practices. It feels so game-like, the way that we practice, and you come out to a scenario like this. Sure, there's some people out there, but it really does feel the same in the way that AG runs things and the intensity of it."
On Sunday night, the Jets released Bailey Zappe and waived Brady Cook. While the Dolphins claimed Cook off waivers, Glenn indicated the Jets could add another QB to the practice squad.
The Jets have been encouraged by Klubnik's poise and athleticism. In the second preseason game at the Steelers, Klubnik took a shotgun snap on first and 10 from inside his own end zone. He wanted to throw to his right, but the Steelers had it well-defended. He stayed calm and took a quick look at RB Kene Nwangwu leaking out of the backfield before delivering a dart to Isaiah Williams on the back side for 7 yards.
"Probably my favorite play for him in the game was when we were backed up," said OC Frank Reich. "And we drop back in the pocket and he's in the end zone, and we called something to the right that I thought was going to be a get it out, quick thing, and they covered it. He had to progress all the way back to the No. 3 guy on the backside, and man, he just looked extremely poised in the pocket. That's hard to do for a quarterback in the NFL. Standing in the endzone – No. 1's not open, No. 2's not open, okay let me work back here to No. 3 and I'm standing in the end zone. He did it like he's been doing it for years, so that was probably, for him, my favorite play. So, he's made good progress."
The Jets traded up 18 slots with the Cincinnati Bengals in Round 4 to draft Klubnik, marking the largest upward move in a picks-for-picks same day draft-day trade in franchise history. Klubnik (6-2, 207) went 26-14 as a starter at Clemson while becoming the fifth Tigers QB to start 40 games. In 12 starts last season, Klubnik competed 65.6 percent of his passes for 2,943 yards with 16 TDs and 6 INTs. He'll start his NFL career as Smith's backup in Tennessee when the Jets open the regular season against the Titans on Sept. 13.
"It's been great, and I think for me just being a sponge and sitting and just learning as much as I possibly can from Frank and Geno and all of those guys in the room," Klubnik said. "I'm just taking every experience that I have and just learning from it and making sure to never make the same mistake twice and learn from the good things and learn from the bad things. Man, I've been really thankful for it and thankful for the preseason as well."
