Jets' Todd Bowles can't say if Teddy Bridgewater will fully participate at OTAs

• By Sean Wagner-McGough

No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold will compete for the Jets' starting quarterback jobin a competition that will officially begin during OTAs later this month, but it's not entirely clear who he'll be going up against. We know that Josh McCown, the incumbent, is the guy Darnold is trying to replace. But whether Teddy Bridgewater will be able to compete remains to be seen.

On Saturday at rookie minicamp, Jets coach Todd Bowles sounded unsure about Bridgewater's status for OTAs.

"I can't give you 100 percent," Bowles said, per ESPN's Rich Cimini. "I'll see when it gets to that. Then I'll be able to tell you."

Bowles added that Bridgewater is expected "to be out there throwing and competing with everybody else" and that "he's been working out," but that doesn't mean Bridgewater will be able to participate in team drills.
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Bridgewater, a first-round pick in 2014, saw his career begin with promise -- he helped lead the Vikings to the playoffs in 2015 and if not for a missed chip-shot field goal, he would've won at least one playoff game -- but his career got derailed by a devastating knee injury suffered on the eve of the 2016 season. He missed the entire year, but found a way back onto the field as one of the Vikings' backups last season in an emotional return.

The Vikings moved on by letting go of all three of their quarterbacks (Sam Bradford went to Arizona and Case Keenum left for Denver) and signing Kirk Cousins. Bridgewater found a new in New York, signing a one-year deal. The destination came as a bit of a surprise given the team already re-signed McCown and was always going to draft a quarterback in the first round. And then there's the fact that Christian Hackenberg remains on the roster. That makes for a crowded quarterback room, though the Jets did part ways with Bryce Petty last week.

While McCown is the starter right now, the Jets have said that they'll hold a competition this summer, which will give Darnold every opportunity to win the job.

"Nothing's been predetermined one way or another," general manager Mike Maccagnan told "The Rich Eisen Show" last week. "There's a chance for anything on the table. Nothing's been sort of set in stone in terms of how we're going to do this in terms of a firm time frame. But (Darnold) is going to have every opportunity and we'll see how it develops going forward."

But nobody should count out Bridgewater, provided his knee is fully functional by the summer. It doesn't really make much sense for the Jets to start McCown if Darnold isn't ready by Week 1. McCown performed admirably last season, but given his age, he doesn't have a long-term future with the team. Bridgewater might not have a long-term future with the team considering they just drafted Darnold with the third-overall pick, but he could be used as trade bait. Say Darnold isn't ready to start Week 1, but Bridgewater is healthy. The Jets could start Bridgewater, hope he flourishes, and then try to trade him to a quarterback-needy team.

Bridgewater is still only 25 years old. He might still have a future in this league if he's able to fully overcome his knee injury.