EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Cade Klubnik had one more night to make the case, and he did not make it.
The Jets rookie went 6-for-13 for 59 yards in Friday's preseason finale against the Giants, threw an interception to linebacker Zaire Barnes — himself a former Jets draft pick — and looked unsettled against a defense that pulled most of its starters after the opening series. New York lost 23-6.
"Overall, not my best ball," Klubnik said afterward, though he pointed to stretches where the offense found a groove. "At times that our offense was really rolling and then at times we just weren't getting into a rhythm and that starts with me and getting the guys going."
Across the full preseason, Klubnik finished 21-for-34 for 190 yards with no touchdowns, the one interception, and four sacks taken.
Head coach Aaron Glenn was measured. "I thought Cade was up and down," he said. "He made some plays. Obviously the drive was a really good drive for him. There are some little bitty things that we've got to fix."
The job is still open
The scoreboard was beside the point Friday. With roster cuts due, the game was about sorting the depth chart — and the backup quarterback slot has been the franchise's most stubborn open question of the summer.
Geno Smith's hold on the starting job has been unchallenged since the Jets acquired him from the Raiders in March. Behind him, Klubnik has outperformed both Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook. The question facing general manager Darren Mougey is whether that is good enough, or whether he should look for a veteran via trade or from the pool of players who become available when teams trim to 53 on Sunday evening.
Glenn would not commit either way.
"Me and [Mougey] are going to sit back and evaluate that," he said. "It's not fair to myself. It's not fair to him. It's not fair to us as a team to sit there and make those statements right now. We'll take a look at that and we'll evaluate it and then we'll make the right decision going forward."
The Jets took Klubnik in the fourth round in April, after a disappointing final season at Clemson knocked down his draft stock. The team has been impressed by his poise and his decision-making in the meeting room. His inexperience, though, keeps surfacing — and the honest question is whether the coaching staff would trust him against the Lions or the Bears if Smith went down.
Where it went wrong
Klubnik's worst moment came early in the second quarter, when he forced a throw toward tight end Jelani Woods and Barnes was waiting for it. He called it a poor decision and a poor throw afterward, and said he should have checked the ball down to his running back instead.
The Jets did score on their opening possession, but Klubnik never threw on the 10-play drive; on the one called pass he ended up scrambling. He got another opening just before the break, taking over at his own 34 with 1:57 left, and a pass interference flag on the Giants pushed the ball out to midfield. It went nowhere — two completions were erased by penalties and a third-down sack took the team out of field goal range.
Running back Chip Trayanum punched in a 1-yard touchdown on that first series for a 6-0 lead, though kicker Jason Sanders missed the extra point. Trayanum's night ended badly: on the final play of the half he was hit, immobilized on the field and taken to a local hospital. The Jets said he was alert and able to move his extremities.
The defense had a better evening, forcing two turnovers. Linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball intercepted a Jameis Winston pass that cornerback Qwan'tez Stiggers had deflected — the second straight week the Jets have come up with a pick after going all of last season without one. McCrary-Ball also knocked the ball loose from Braxton Berrios, and Stiggers recovered it in the end zone.
With nearly all of the starters rested Friday, attention now turns to Sunday's 6 p.m. deadline to reach 53 players, and then to the Sept. 13 opener against the Titans.
This story was first reported by the New York Post. Read the original account here: https://nypost.com/2026/08/28/sports/cade-klubnik-flops-in-preseason-finale-as-jets-backup-qb-remains-a-question/
