He was supposed to be the next franchise quarterback. He never even came close. Kellen Clemens never once asserted himself as the best quarterback on the roster in his four years with the Jets. Over the past two years, his complete lack of progress led the Jets to trade for Brett Favre and draft Mark Sanchez.
Numbers don't always tell the whole story with quarterbacks, but that's not really the case with Clemens. He's been as bad as the stats have looked. His completion percentage is only 51.1%, and he has 5 touchdowns against 11 career interceptions.
You might think he would have shown some sort of improvement through the years. It never happened. Kellen entered camp this year with three years in the system under his belt. Yes, he was an underdog to Mark Sanchez to take the starting job, but he never even made things competitive against the rookie. Sanchez more or less took the starting job by default.
Things didn't get better when a Sanchez knee injury forced Kellen into action late in the game against Buffalo and at Tampa Bay a week later. He looked like a guy who couldn't read a defense, was totally flustered, and lacked any sort of fundamentals.
How much more patience can the team show? If he hasn't taken even baby steps forward in four years, why would anybody believe it will happen now? Clemens is a restricted free agent in an uncapped year. No team is going to bite on a tender that would cost a first or a second rounder. If the Jets don't tender him, he'll become an unrestricted free agent. Maybe some team will bite, and the Jets will have a chance to sign a free agent in his place.
Kellen is one of the best people in the game, but it doesn't look like he can play quarterback in this league. Having a guy like this a snap away from starting at the most important position is scary for a team with Super Bowl ambitions.
I vote to let him walk.
How do you vote?