Trevor Siemian to sign with Jets to be Sam Darnold’s backup

The Jets have found their backup quarterback for 2019. It will be former Broncos and Vikings quarterback Trevor Siemian.

That’s a pretty cheap deal as far as backup quarterbacks go.

The threshold for a decent backup is low. You can’t expect much from a number two quarterback. At best you probably are hoping for somebody who can play credible football for a stretch. The reason you have to set expectations low is because of how rare quality quarterbacks are. Many teams don’t even have one. Nobody can expect to have two.

I think Siemian hits the threshold for a backup quarterback. He put together an unremarkable but credible 2016 season as Denver’s starter. While he isn’t a great quarterback, he is probably about as well as the Jets could hope to do for a backup, and his deal is very cheap.

This likely brings Josh McCown’s two year stint as Jets backup to an end. McCown expressed interest in returning to the team but could not commit to playing a full season at this point. The Jets didn’t have the luxury of waiting with comparable backups finding homes.