Bowles dismisses Darnold's inexperience: He's not 'fresh out of the womb'

New York Jets coach Todd Bowles insists he's not worried about the inexperience of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold ahead of his first career start.

"He's been playing football his whole life," Bowles told reporters Tuesday, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini. "He's not just coming fresh out of the womb and grabbing a ball for the first time. He's been in crowds, he's seen crowds and he's been playing football. I don't think it's that big of a deal."

Bowls officially named Darnold his opening-day starter Monday, thrusting the third overall pick into the fire over veteran Josh McCown.

Darnold won the starting job with a strong preseason. He'll lead Gang Green into a road tilt versus the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football in what promises to be a rowdy atmosphere.

"As a football player, whether it's Pop Warner, high school, college or now the NFL, your dream is to play the game," Darnold said. "That's what I want to do. I just want to go out and play every single day. If Josh got the nod, I was going to be pumped for him and be the best backup I could be. Now that I know I'm the starter, it's just an amazing feeling."

The Jets are coming off back-to-back five-win seasons, and haven't made the playoffs since 2010.

Copyright (C) 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.