Joe Namath believes Sam Darnold can win Super Bowl with Jets

Joe Namath, the only quarterback ever to lead the New York Jets to the Super Bowl, believes the franchise has found the man who can join him in that club with Sam Darnold.

Anyone who follows the New York Jets knows that the franchise has had a long and tortured history. The Jets’ lone moment in the sun came 51 years ago, when Joe Namath backed up his infamous guarantee and helped the Jets upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Since that game, the Jets haven’t even returned to the Super Bowl, let alone another one and Namath’s career was short-circuited by various knee problems. The Jets wandered through the valley of darkness for years searching for the true heir to Namath, and they may have finally found him in the form of Sam Darnold.

Namath agrees with that sentiment, telling ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay that he believes Darnold is the guy to bring the Jets another Super Bowl title.

Jets’ fans have suffered a long time without much success, but there is plenty of optimism around the franchise with Darnold around. Darnold, who slipped to the Jets at No. 3 overall in the 2018 draft when the New York Giants inexplicably passed on him to take Saquon Barkley, looked impressive at the end of his rookie year.

The Jets have also been working hard to build around Darnold this offseason, adding Kelechi Osemele to bolster their offensive line and signing some new weapons for him in slot receiver Jamison Crowder and star running back Le’Veon Bell. Namath’s endorsement should also feel good to Jets’ fans, who have been hoping for someone to live up to Namath’s legacy for a long time.

Time will tell if Darnold will make Namath look good and deliver a title to the Jets, but the franchise’s window of opportunity should open soon. Tom Brady is close to the end of his career, and once he retires the Jets and Darnold should have the opportunity to end the New England dynasty in style.