BEREA, Ohio — The New York Jets will take on the Cleveland Browns without one of their biggest offensive players, quarterback Sam Darnold.
Jets coach Adam Gase made the announcement Thursday that Darnold will miss the Monday Night Football game because of a bout with mononucleosis. Veteran Trevor Siemian is the only other quarterback on the Jets’ depth chart.
“Nothing, nothing at all,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said of if the quarterback change affects Cleveland’s preparation.
“We’re going to be focused on our preparation during the week, the same as we would’ve been before. We’re going to try to get after the quarterback, just like we did before. We’re going to try to affect the quarterback every way we can, through coverage, through pressure. Nothing changes.”
Siemian is in his fifth NFL season out of Northwestern University, with all of his playing experience coming as a member of the Denver Broncos from 2015 through 2017. Siemian spent the 2018 season with the Minnesota Vikings, but did not throw a pass for the NFC North Division stalwart.
“These guys are in the NFL for a reason,” Kitchens said. “Trevor can play, so nothing’s changed. People like to make a big deal of it, but Tennessee didn’t have their left tackle (and beat us). We went to Pittsburgh in 2015, and we had a good football team in Arizona. They didn’t have Ben Roethlisberger and they beat us. That doesn’t matter.
“What they do does not affect how we prepare. We’re going to prepare and concentrate on ourselves, with ourselves getting better, ourselves playing smarter, ourselves playing tougher. We want smart, tough, physical football players, and that’s what we’re trying to get. That has nothing to do with the opponent. No disrespect to New York at all, they are a good football team.”
During his time in Denver, Siemian completed 495 of his 835 attempts (59.3 percent) for 5,686 yards and 30 touchdowns against 24 interceptions. He completed 74 passes for at least 20 yards and had 10 40-yard throws against 64 sacks taken.
On the ground, Siemian accounted for 183 yards, one touchdown and 14 first downs on 60 career carries.
Siemian will be playing behind an offensive line that surrendered four sacks for 20 lost yards in last Sunday’s 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium.
Siemian has a 13-11-0 record in 24 career starts
“He makes NFL throws,” Kitchens said of Siemian. “He’s a good player. I remember him in Denver.”