Jets' Darnold Has a 'Good Shot' to Return in Week 12 vs. Dolphins

Darnold vs. Tua next weekend? Adam Gase is optimistic New York's QB will be ready to go

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold will miss his fourth game of the season this Sunday against the Chargers due to an injury in his right shoulder. According to his head coach, however, there's a good chance New York will have Darnold back under center next weekend. 

Before practice on Friday, Adam Gase told reporters that Darnold is progressing in the right direction toward returning from injury in Week 12.

"He’s doing good. I think he’s feeling better," Gase said in a Zoom call Friday afternoon. "I think we’ve got a good shot for the next game. He’s progressing in the right direction, we’ll just kind of see how this weekend goes and how he feels Monday and Tuesday, and then we’ll be able to know on Wednesday."

READ: Mark Sanchez Thinks It Might Be Time For Sam Darnold to 'Move On' From Jets

Darnold's injury traces back to Oct. 1 when he suffered a sprained AC joint in his shoulder against the Broncos, missing his next two games. He then aggravated the injury on Nov. 1 against the Chiefs, taking a big hit while scrambling. 

The quarterback hasn't played since that fateful collision in Kansas City, managing soreness and easing back into a modified throwing program as veteran Joe Flacco fills in. Darnold hasn't participated in practice this week.

Gase confirmed Darnold will continue to increase the volume of his throws up until practice next week. The 23-year-old said earlier this week that he's "very confident" he'll play again before the end of this season. Now, it's just a matter of getting him back to feeling 100 percent so that when he returns, he won't be at risk of doing more damage to his throwing shoulder. 

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New York is 0-9 in games without Darnold since the USC product was drafted in the first round in 2018. Flacco will look to end that winless skid, and lead the Jets their first win of the season, in Los Angeles on Sunday.

If Darnold is back next week, he'll face rookie Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. Darnold is 1-3 against the division rival in his career. He's thrown eight interceptions against Miami, the most for Darnold against any team in football.

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