2 growing concerns are rising at NY Jets training camp

The 2026 edition of New York Jets training camp has been rife with promising takeaways. Geno Smith is taking shots, David Bailey is turning heads, and the secondary is making plays.

However, the team is also managing a pair of budding concerns as they close in on the preseason opener.

1. Rookie injuries

The Jets have high expectations for their rookie class. They selected four players in the top 50 picks and hope to see each of them start in Week 1.

Unfortunately, though, the Jets’ seven-player rookie class has been riddled with injuries throughout the summer.

It starts with 16th overall pick Kenyon Sadiq. The uber-athletic tight end underwent a procedure for a sports hernia in May. He made a full return to practice at the start of training camp, but is now sidelined after a setback, which could keep him out for the entirety of the preseason.

Sadiq’s status for Week 1 does not seem to be in jeopardy, but for a tight end who many consider to be a relative project for a first-round pick, missing the entire preseason could be detrimental to his development.

Second-round cornerback D’Angelo Ponds suffered a calf strain during the Jets’ first training camp practice and still has not returned.

Now, seventh-round safety VJ Payne, a hopeful special teams contributor, will be out for 3-4 weeks with a bone bruise. This could jeopardize Payne’s roster spot.

It’s never ideal to see a rookie class dealing with so many injuries, but it is especially critical for a Jets team that built itself to rely on a larger quantity of rookie snaps than perhaps any other NFL team.

2. The QB2 situation

The Jets didn’t make a strong effort in the offseason to strengthen the back end of their quarterback depth chart. They added a developmental project in fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik, but on the veteran front, they settled for two players with negative career touchdown-to-interception margins in Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook.

So far, the results have been as expected. Jets X-Factor’s Robby Sabo, reporting live from Florham Park, wrote after Friday’s practice that the Jets “don’t have a legitimate QB2,” citing struggles from all three reserve quarterbacks.

The good news is that Klubnik took a significant step forward during Sunday’s practice, which featured a scrimmage format. That is a much more applicable setting to a real game than your typical simulated practice, so it’s a good sign regarding Klubnik’s game-readiness. Still, one practice is not enough on its own to change the overall trend.

New York will enter the preseason with, on paper, one of the worst backup quarterback situations in the NFL. Klubnik and Zappe must use the three exhibition contests to change that perception as much as they can.

This is the bed that the Jets made for themselves, though. Zappe and Cook have never looked like QB2-caliber NFL quarterbacks, and it is wildly ambitious to expect a fourth-round pick from a weak quarterback class to be QB2-caliber in his first season.

The hope is that Klubnik continues progressing and uses the preseason to generate faith in his ability to perform at a competent level for a backup. It would allow the Jets to preserve a roster spot by keeping only two quarterbacks.

If Klubnik does not progress, the Jets may settle for the more experienced Zappe as their backup, forcing them to keep three quarterbacks as they stash Klubnik in the No. 3 hole. That wouldn’t be ideal, as it would waste a roster spot that could be used on a worthy non-quarterback.

However, Zappe has been unimpressive in his own right. So, if nothing changes, the Jets might just go ahead and tab Klubnik as the backup, rather than side with Zappe based merely on experience when his summer performance suggests he might not actually be an upgrade. After all, Klubnik has already been taking the bulk of the second-team reps, so things seem to be headed in that direction.

That would be the smart roster-management move. But the Jets would still be left with a fourth-round rookie as the next man up under center.

There is an unusual amount of pressure on Klubnik in the coming weeks. If he does not step up in the preseason, the Jets will walk into Nashville feeling like they might be one Geno Smith injury away from the season being over.

Even if Klubnik does shine in the preseason, it won’t be enough to prove he can keep an NFL offense afloat in his first professional regular season. Zach Wilson lit it up in his first preseason, and Jets fans know what happened next.

This is not an ideal quarterback situation for any NFL team, whether they are legitimately competing for a Super Bowl or not.

The Jets need to start playing meaningful games into December to change their direction as an organization. Those plans must be able to stay afloat if a single player goes down. The team’s chances of being mildly competitive should not hinge entirely on the health of one mister Geno Smith at age 35.

As of today, though, they do.