Sam Darnold is officially back.
The Jets announced via Twitter that the franchise quarterback has been cleared, and will get the start in Week 6 against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.
Sam will start Sunday against Dallas.#DALvsNYJ | #TakeFlight
- New York Jets (@nyjets) October 8, 2019
Head coach Adam Gase sounded optimistic on Monday during his appearance on "The Michael Kay Show," where he said, "he's excited to hear the news" about Darnold's medical tests to see if he could be good to go. Darnold added, "I have a feeling it's going to be good news."
Darnold has missed the past three games while dealing with mononucleosis. He has been back at practice, but only in a non-contact setting as his enlarged spleen -- a side effect of the illness -- caused major concern. He was receiving most of the first-team reps with the idea that he would be able to start, but the spleen situation was the deciding factor in keeping Darnold out another week against the Eagles.
Since Darnold has been gone, Trevor Siemian was lost for the season with an ankle injury in his Week 2 start against the Browns on Monday Night Football. That brought Luke Falk, who was on the practice squad to start the season, into the starting role for the past two weeks.
In those two games against the Patriots and Eagles, Falk totaled only 218 yards on 27-for-48 with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also fumbled twice against Philadelphia on Sunday.
And with Falk struggling, it has been easy for defenses to focus on Le'Veon Bell in the backfield. Though he was struggling to pick up solid yardage in that first game with Darnold against the Bills, it's been even tougher for him recently. Over his last three games, he has 146 yards on the ground on 54 rush attempts. That's only 2.7 yards per carry.
But he's happy that Darnold is back calling the plays on this week.
馃ぉ馃ぉ let's get it sammy https://t.co/BbKLeVOSDJ
- Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) October 8, 2019
With the offense struggling mightily, Darnold will come back with the hopes of reversing the tides and providing a much-needed spark to this Jets team.