The odds of Jets general manager Joe Douglas placing a call Tuesday to presumably blackballed quarterback Colin Kaepernick are just a smidgeon higher than Douglas turning to me to solve Gang Green's shorthandedness at the position.
Given the political leanings of Woody and Christopher Johnson, the Jets' owners, they might rather watch the Jets lose every game by a zillion points until starting signal caller Sam Darnold returns to action from his bout with mononucleosis than give Kaepernick a forum in the New York market for his calls for social justice.
However, this team has a bunch of dead men walking to New England for next week's expected slaughter following Monday night's desultory 23-3 defeat to Cleveland at MetLife Stadium. Gang Green's offense, despite the hype that came with coach Adam Gase's hiring in January, is catatonic, aggregating 11 points in two games.
The Jets could use a jolt.
New York didn't just lose a game Monday; they lost another quarterback. Browns beast Myles Garrett, who manhandled Jets tackle Kelvin Beachum all night while registering three sacks and five QB hits and drawing three Beachum fouls, crushed Trevor Siemian in the second quarter with a late hit. It sent the Jets' No. 2 QB limping to the locker room favoring his left ankle. While Gase did not know the full extent of Siemian's injury immediately following the game, Siemian was seen exiting the stadium on crutches and with a heavy boot on his left foot. He'll have an MRI on Tuesday.
Don't hold your breath that Siemian will recover in time for the Patriots on Sunday. When asked if he will be looking at quarterbacks this week, Gase said, "We might have to because we're down to one."
That one is Luke Falk, who was signed off New York's practice squad earlier Monday. Falk, 24, may have been taken with the same selection (199th overall, sixth round) that Tom Brady was 18 years before, but that's where their similarities end.
Falk did a satisfactory job Monday getting the Jets in position to punt. To be fair, the Jets had three drives of consequence with Falk under center, though they led to just three points. He played turnover-free while completing 20 of 25 relatively safe passes for 198 yards.
The point is, let's not get carried away. I wouldn't call Falk's performance confidence-inspiring by any means. Nor, by the way, was I impressed with Siemian, who accounted for minus-14 net yards passing in his quarter-plus before the injury.
With that sorry excuse for an offensive line, the Jets need a quarterback capable of running for his life — an ability to make plays while he's at it would be nice as well. That's Kaepernick's niche.
I'm not a doctor, but everything I've read about mono suggests that it would be foolish for the Jets to rush Darnold back. The disease can enlarge the spleen, making contact to that area dangerous. A worst-case scenario might keep him out of four more games.
The Jets' next four opponents: at New England, at Philadelphia and home games versus Dallas and New England. Do you really want to see Falk — or Siemian, for that matter — navigate that gauntlet?
Good backup quarterbacks are always hard to find. This season's injury plague, unfortunately, has already thinned the ranks. Teams with far greater aspirations than the Jets, like Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and New Orleans, have seen their starters go down. Whoever is left on the scrap heap isn't going to be any good.
And then there's Kaepernick, 31, who hasn't played since 2016. Folks can argue over the reason, but it's clear that his leadership in the national anthem kneeling protests did not endear him to prospective employers. Kaepernick threatened to sue the league and settled for an undisclosed amount in February. His social media posts indicate that he is ready to start fresh, though I wouldn't expect him to remain silent about his causes.
When he did play, Kaepernick was a mobile quarterback with a decent, though sometimes erratic, arm. Remember when everyone went gaga over Ravens QB Lamar Jackson's 250-yard passing/120-yard rushing day Sunday? While it was the first time anyone did that in a regular season game in NFL history, Kaepernick did it in a playoff game for San Francisco versus Green Bay in 2013.
The 49ers made the Super Bowl that year, and you can make the case that it's been downhill for Kaepernick since. He went 3-16 in his last two seasons as a starter.
I also want to emphasize that there isn't one single player who can fix the Jets' mess right now. For instance, anyone clamoring for Douglas to make a bid for star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, whose agent reportedly requested exit papers out of Jacksonville on Monday, is missing the big picture.
Still, what do the Jets have to lose by bringing in Kaepernick? Revenue? I know several fans who have already begun unloading their tickets, having given up on the season with the Jets just 0-2. It's only going to get worse. Wait until Dallas arrives in four weeks — Met Life will be overrun with annoying Cowboys fans. They won't care what Kaepernick does before kickoff.
Again, I would be floored if Kaepernick received an invitation from the Jets this week and I can't imagine that he could lead this club out of the abyss even if he did. But he once had magic in his arm and legs. I'd rather watch Kaepernick attempt to dig deep to recover that magic than suffer through Muggles like Siemian and Falk.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1.
