Three weeks in, and the New York Jets still do not fully know what they have in Cade Klubnik. While he certainly looked the part in his preseason debut vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks ago, Friday night's showing vs. the crosstown rival New York Giants was nothing short of a concerning. Klubnik went 6-for-13 passing for 59 yards and an interception in a losing effort to mostly Giants backups.
Klubnik was obviously not pleased with his performance, but he tried to keep it as positive as he could after the preseason game. “Overall, not my best ball,” Klubnik said. “I thought we did some good things, though. I thought at times that our offense was really rolling and then at times we just weren’t getting into a rhythm and that starts with me and getting the guys going.”
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn described Klubnik's performance as "up and down." This makes what should have been an easy decision for him all the more difficult. Klubnik has the upside to beat out veterans Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe for the backup job, possibly overtaking Geno Smith at some point later this season. However, Klubnik's inexperience revealed itself as the preseason went along.
Klubnik finished the preseason by completing 21-of-34 passes for 190 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and four sacks over the course of three games.
Cade Klubnik's night is over. His final preseason stats:
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 29, 2026
21-for-34, 190 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks
The rookie has something, for sure. Like his poise, escapability, throws a good intermediate ball. But his inexperience is obvious. Unless Mougey pulls off a trade, Klubnik will…
New York Jets may mitigate risk concerning Cade Klubnik's inexperience
It is a tricky proposition to navigate. The Jets obviously believe in Klubnik and want him to succeed long term. However, for as much as the coaching staff has praised his poise and decision-making, his blatant inexperience at the NFL level may be too much to thrust him into the backup role right away. Cook and Zappe have started games in the NFL before, but are not as talented as Klubnik coming in.
This is why New York could consider trading for a veteran backup, or potentially seeing what players become available after cut day. Klubnik is going to make this team. New York general manager Darren Mougey used a precious fourth-round pick on the former Clemson starting quarterback. Again, there have been moments where he looks like he can be a viable starter for the Jets, just not consistently...
What are the Jets to do in this situation? They need to roster three quarterbacks. Two of which will be Smith and Klubnik, with the third being either Cook, Zappe, or somebody else entirely. Even if Glenn is a defensive-minded head coach, he knows he needs to have somewhat competent quarterback play to survive this season at the helm of the Jets. Klubnik could save him later on, but just now right now.
The smartest thing to do would be to have Klubnik as the Jets' QB2 in name only for the time being. Smith is clearly going to start, and that is totally fine. However, Klubnik needs to earn that primary backup spot during practice and throughout the season. Odds are, he is going to start games this year, but he may not be quite as ready to be forced into action as we might have expected him to be.
Friday night's showing is a perfect illustration of why New York might not be ready to crown Klubnik.
Add us as a preferred source on Google