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Jets trade Teddy Bridgewater to Saints; Lions to face Sam Darnold Week 1

The Lions may be facing a rookie quarterback in Week 1.

NFL: Scrimmage-New York Jets at Washington Redskins Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a busy day for NFL quarterback news. First the Green Bay Packers sent backup quarterback Brett Hundley to Seattle for a sixth-round pick. Then the Packers took care of Aaron Rodgers, signing him to a record-breaking four-year extension. Now another backup quarterback is on the move.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the New York Jets are trading Teddy Bridgewater to the New Orleans Saints.

Trade terms have yet to be announced, but the relevant news here to Detroit Lions fans is that it appears the Jets will be starting rookie Sam Darnold for Week 1 when the visit Detroit on “Monday Night Football.”

UPDATE: The Jets received a third-round pick for Bridgewater, according to Ian Rapoport.

Technically, Josh McCown is listed as the team’s first-string quarterback, but Darnold has started the past two preseason games, including the team’s dress rehearsal. The rookie passer has looked fairly solid, going 29-45 for 244 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Meanwhile, McCown only played in the first preseason game and threw a single pass for four yards.

As of Tuesday, Jets head coach Todd Bowles would not commit to a Week 1 starter.

“Sitting down with the coaches, we’ll go over everything and everybody will give their opinion,” Bowles told MMQB’s Albert Breer. “We just haven’t talked about it, and we won’t until after the last preseason game. We’ll sit down as a staff and we’ll go over every position, including that one, and we’ll come out with our guys.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the Jets utilize their quarterbacks in the final preseason game against the Eagles. As of now, they only have Darnold and McCown on the roster.

We’ll see how Bowles plays it and if he’ll make up his mind about Week 1’s starter soon.

UPDATE 2: Ian Rapoport is reporting Darnold will indeed start vs. the Lions.

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