Cade Klubnik was not expected to start at quarterback for the Jets in their preseason opener, but Geno Smith’s sore ankle led the team to bump the fourth-round pick up a slot against the Buccaneers.
Klubnik played two drives and went 5-of-7 for 56 yards while leading the Jets to 10 points. After the game, head coach Aaron Glenn said that Klubnik’s comfort running the offense was reminiscent of what the team saw over his 40 starts at Clemson.
“When we watched him in college, he was the same way,” Glenn said, via a transcript from the team. “Nothing changes. He has some moxie to him. He’s very confident. He’s confident in his arm. He’s confident in his ability to elude and make plays with his feet. And his ability to be able to come out and operate with the first group the way he did, to me, I thought was outstanding. Still some things that he has to learn, still mistakes that he made in the game, but listen, he’s going to be quick to correct those, just like the other players are. We’re going to continue to move forward.”
Glenn said “today was really a thumbs up” for Klubnik while adding that it was a preseason game. Glenn didn’t mention that the Bucs didn’t have starters on the field, which is more reason not to go too overboard about the performance even while feeling good about how the rookie handled his first opportunity against an opposing team.
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