Todd Bowles Says He May Hold Off on Naming Jets' Starting QB

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles may push back his plan to name his team's starting quarterback Monday after the team's third preseason game two days prior, according to Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media. 

The decision may come Tuesday or Wednesday, Bowles said, but it will be decided at some point next week.

"As soon as we come to a decision," he said. 

He added, "I'll see how they play Saturday night, and I'll make [a decision] after that."

At the moment, the battle for the starting job is between Christian Hackenberg, Josh McCown and Bryce Petty. According to Slater, though, "Petty looks like the third-stringer." 

The decision would be more clear-cut if either Hackenberg or McCown significantly outperforms the other against the New York Giants on Saturday.

Hackenberg, 22, was the team's second-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft. At some point, the Jets will have to decide whether they believe he can be a franchise quarterback after he didn't attempt a single pass as a rookie.

McCown, meanwhile, is a 38-year-old veteran who will either be a bridge quarterback for a year until the Jets add someone in next year's highly touted quarterback class in the draft or will serve as a backup and mentor to Hackenberg.

On workload alone, Hackenberg would appear to be the slight favorite over McCown. The latter has barely practiced this week and logged only one snap Thursday, according to Slater. But Bowles said practice reps had no correlation with the amount of playing time a player would receive against the Giants on Saturday.

He also spoke about McCown's workload during training camp.

"He's gotten a lot of work in practice [previously]," Bowles said, per Slater. "He had a good drive the first game. I wanted to see the other two guys play." 

Perhaps the Jets have a plan in place at quarterback and are keeping it close to the vest. Otherwise, it appears they have little clarity on how they're going to handle the position that is shaping up to be their biggest weakness in the 2017 season.