Todd Bowles Isn't Ready to Name the New York Jets' Right Tackle

New York Jets RT Breno Giacomini's status for Week 1 seems very much in doubt right now. The two players most likely to get the starting nod in his place are Ben Ijalana and Brent Qvale. Head coach Todd Bowles is not tipping his hand as to which of the two is more likely to play in the opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

On how he would characterize the right tackle competition between Brent Qvale and Ben Ijalana…
I think it’s even right now. I don’t have a clear-cut winner that’s going to take the spot right now if Breno (Giacomini) doesn’t play. We’ll see going into the Philadelphia game.

On how he’ll handle playing Qvale and Ijalana during the final preseason game when starters typically sit…
Since one of them hasn’t started before, they’re both going to play in the game and then we’re going to see.

The performance of the two players against the Philadelphia Eagles will be one of the key things to watch.