FLORHAM PARK Rashard Robinson Jerseys 2019 , N.J. (AP) — Sam Darnold is out of his walking boot and has started jogging. Next step for the New York Jets quarterback: getting back on the field.Darnold sat out the team’s first practice after its bye-week break while he continues to recover from a foot strain.The rookie wore a green Jets cap and sweats as practice began Monday, and mostly watched from the side while Josh McCown and Davis Webb threw passes in individual drills.“The foot is really good,” Darnold said, adding that he’s experiencing no pain. “I feel really good. Like I said last week, just following protocol right now, but it feels really good. (I’ve) been walking around on it fine. It’s just stable progressions throughout the week, I think.”Darnold was injured during the Jets’ 13-6 loss at Miami on Nov. 4. McCown started in his place the following week, a 41-10 defeat at home to Buffalo.It’s uncertain if Darnold will be able to start against New England on Sunday.“Right now, it’s status quo,” coach Todd Bowles said. “Day to day, week to week.”The Jets aren’t required to submit an injury report until Wednesday, after the first official practice of the week is held. Bowles said he and the team would have to see if Darnold might be able to participate, but insisted he had no gut feeling.“Not at this time, I don’t,” Bowles said. “Honestly, I don’t.”If Darnold can’t go, it would be McCown starting against the Patriots at home. The 39-year-old veteran struggled in his season debut, along with the rest of the offense, in the loss to the Bills. McCown was 17 of 34 for 135 yards and two interceptions.Darnold hopes to be able to practice at some point this week, but insists he’ll follow the direction of head athletic trainer John Mellody and his staff. That might mean sitting out a second straight game and missing his first matchup with Tom Brady White Kelvin Beachum Jerseys , Bill Belichick and Co.“I think the idea of going up against him and the Patriots, Coach Belichick, all those guys, it’s a cool thing,” Darnold said, “especially with me growing up in the era where they really controlled the whole NFL, for the most part.“So it’s really cool to be able to have a chance to go up against them, if I get the opportunity this weekend.”Darnold, the No. 3 overall draft pick this year, leads the NFL with 14 interceptions and struggled in his past three games before the injury — including being picked off four times against the Dolphins. That has done nothing to shake the confidence of his coaches or teammates.The 21-year-old signal caller also remains positive about the experience he has gained in his first season.“I had some time to think about it,” Darnold said. “I thought throughout the year I’ve been progressing and getting better. Yeah, the Miami game, it wasn’t a step in the wrong direction, (but) it was just a little bump in the road, I think. I think other than that, I’ve been continuing to improve every single week, and I’m just going to try to do that if I get the chance to play.”After a whirlwind of a transition from college to the draft to the NFL during the past several months, Darnold used the bye-week break to catch his breath and spend some time with his friends and visiting Manhattan.That meant even passing on extra film study for a few days.“When I was here doing rehab and all of that stuff, I was watching film a little bit, but for the most part it was a good time to get away from it Kelvin Beachum Jerseys 2019 , reset my mind,” Darnold said. “I knew when I got back today, I was going to get after it.”Teams have different views on how to handle rookie quarterbacks , and whether it’s best to start them right away or have them sit a bit and absorb things from the sideline.Darnold won the starting job out of training camp and was under center in Week 1 for the Jets. Given his struggles — two TDs, seven INTs — in his past three games, some fans and media thought perhaps the injury might have been a blessing for Darnold so he could watch a bit rather than play.“No, I want to be out there,” Darnold said. “I want to be out there playing with the guys, but I think the biggest thing for me was to just watch Josh go about a game week. I think watching him on the field, watching him on the practice field helped me out a lot. So in terms of that, it was good.“But I definitely want to be out there with my guys.”NOTES: WR Robby Anderson (ankle) and LG James Carpenter (undisclosed) were among those who did not dress for practice. C Spencer Long (knee/finger) participated after missing New York’s previous game. … The Jets signed DL Destiny Vaeao to the practice squad. Vaeao spent the past two-plus seasons with Philadelphia after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State in 2016. FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Adam Gase spent most of his nearly 15-minute news conference batting down reports and rumors, while trying to set the record straight.The New York Jets coach has been the focus of lots of conversation — most of it not good — on sports talk radio, television and social media since the team fired general manager Mike Maccagnan last Wednesday. The widespread belief is that Gase had something to do with how everything went down, that he “backstabbed” Maccagnan and forced team chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson to make a change.“That would be false,” Gase insisted Thursday during his first news conference since Maccagnan was fired. “That’s just not true. Christopher made the decision.”On Monday, Gase took one question about the situation from reporters at the team’s facility and said there was no power struggle between him and Maccagnan. Gase acknowledged Thursday that the two didn’t always see eye to eye, but nothing unlike other NFL teams’ coaches and GMs.“The majority of the time, me and Mike were always on the same page,” Gase said. “You have disagreements. There are always going to be disagreements in this profession White Morris Claiborne Jerseys , as far as philosophy, what you want to do player personnel-wise, but at the end of the day he had the final decision. That was his right.”Gase was then asked if he expressed to Johnson at any point that he couldn’t work with Maccagnan.“No,” Gase said flatly.One of the rumored sources of tension between the two was the Jets giving running back Le’Veon Bell a four-year, $52.5 million deal in free agency. According to some published reports, Gase didn’t want Bell; others said Gase was not happy about paying that much money for the former Steelers star.“The contract was what it was,” Gase said. “I mean, everybody can criticize contracts all you want, but he’s here, I’m excited he’s here, I think our players are excited he’s here and our coaches are. When you get a chance to coach a great player, a guy who has done things that no one has ever done in the league, like him we’re excited about that opportunity. I’m excited to get him in the offense, so I can start figuring out what else can we do with him. What hasn’t he done? What can he be great at in this system?”Gase also insisted he did not think the Jets overpaid for Bell, who has not attended the team’s voluntary workouts this offseason. He is expected to re-join his new teammates for mandatory minicamp next week.“Discussions are had and whether or not we disagreed on anything if it was financially, that’s a completely different story than the person or the player,” Gase said. “And that’s where a lot of this gets misconstrued. Le’Veon Bell is a great player, he’s a good person, he’s been in constant contact with me. I enjoyed my interaction with him when he was here, when he came up to visit for his physical and we signed him Morris Claiborne Jerseys 2019 , when he was here for the beginning of Phase I. He texts me all the time. All that stuff on Instagram, I get it first. That’s how I know what he’s doing. He’s been great with me as far as contact goes, making sure that I know what he’s doing, where he’s working out at, where he is — whatever part of the United States he’s working out in.”There was a recent report that the Jets could even consider trying to trade Bell to get out of the big contract.“That’s ridiculous,” Gase said, shaking his head. “That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.”Gase is serving as the acting general manager while the Jets begin the process of hiring a new one, with the coach characterizing it as being in the “beginning stages.”Johnson said last week that Gase will assist in the search, but Gase reiterated that it will be the owner’s decision. Some have speculated that the incoming GM will likely have previous working ties with Gase, and the coach will have heavy influence on that new hire’s decision making.“I don’t know,” Gase said. “I don’t really hang out with ‘yes men,’ so if it’s somebody I already know, it’s probably somebody that’s not going to be a ‘yes man.'”Gase was also asked if he thinks he needs to establish a line of trust with the fans who might be wary about how things have unfolded with him during the past few weeks.“I think our fans care whether we win or lose,” he said. “If we win games, nobody’s going to remember this. I know that. … Our job is to win — that’s it.”NOTES: First-round pick DL Quinnen Williams (calf) was not practicing for precautionary reasons. … CB Trumaine Johnson was not present during the voluntary practice.