Petty believes he's Jets' No. 1 QB

New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty has no interest in diplomacy as he vies for the team's starting role.

Josh McCown is currently entrenched as the team's first-string quarterback, but Petty is making no secret of trying to unseat the incumbent starter.

"I never said, 'I'm the No. 2,'" Petty told ESPN's Lenn Robbins. "I say, 'I'm the No. 1.'

"You've got to prepare just like the starter. And that's been the whole key to the whole competition the whole time. You never want second place. You understand it, but at the same time you have to go out there and every time try to be better than you were yesterday. So that's been my mindset, really, since I came in."

Petty submitted a strong showing during the preseason, leading some to believe that he could potentially take over for McCown.

Despite being on the bench, Petty said he's focusing on being ready if he gets called up as the starter.

"I haven't counted reps and I know, 'Yeah, you can,' but you really don't," Petty said. "Between scout team and everything else, you get enough reps, so the tough part is, or the professionalism is, you've got to know that game plan, just like Josh does or whoever the 1 is, and be ready when your time is called.

"That's what you've got to do on your own time, and that's part of the professionalism part of it. Reps are not. You've got to be ready to go."

The Jets are in action Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

Copyright (C) 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.