If Rex Ryan has a feeling on who he wants to be his starting quarterback this fall, he’s not giving any clues.
Asked on ESPN Radio yesterday if he has a gut feeling about who the starter will be, Ryan said, “No, I don’t.”
The Jets coach repeated many of the same things he said at the league meetings this week, stressing the team is not rebuilding and the roster is not set yet. He also said the team is not actively trying to trade star cornerback Darrelle Revis and called reports about the team dealing Revis “speculation.”
“I haven’t had one conversation with anybody about trading Darrelle,” Ryan said.
Ryan always has been a vocal supporter of Mark Sanchez, but sounds like he has cooled on the player the Jets selected with the fifth pick in the 2009 Draft after watching him commit 52 turnovers over the last two years.
“I haven’t lost confidence in Mark, but I do know this: The play at quarterback has to get a lot better,” Ryan said. “There’s no doubt. Whether it’s Mark or somebody else, we know we have to improve in that area without a doubt.I guess we can file that in the ‘no kidding’ category, but that’s it: It has to get better. I believe that Mark will play a lot better but I also believe there’s going to be stiffer competition than maybe there’s been in the past here.”
The Jets have Sanchez, David Garrard, Greg McElroy, Tim Tebow and Matt Simms at quarterback on their current roster. Tebow is expected to be released, though Ryan would not touch that topic during the interview.
Ryan said he expects an open competition for the starting job.
“I think it’s going to be a position, obviously, that we’re bringing in competition,” Ryan said. “I don’t think there’s a clear-cut favorite, in my opinion,” Ryan said. “I just think it’s going to be competition from day one. Sanchez will take the first snap, but that’s all you can say. It is going to be an open competition.”
* Former Jets guard Brandon Moore left his visit with the Dolphins without a contract, but the two sides still could work out a deal, according to a league source.
Moore, the longtime Jet, also is drawing interest from the Cowboys and Lions, according to the source, and may visit them next week.