The Jets Ask NFL Whether Forward Pass Is Mandatory
Team reportedly “exploring all options” after discovering rulebook never explicitly requires throwing the football.
FLORHAM PARK, NJ — The Jets have formally contacted the league office seeking clarification on whether teams are actually required to attempt a forward pass during games, sources confirmed Friday.
The inquiry reportedly came after a member of the Jets coaching staff spent several hours reviewing the rulebook and made what team officials are calling a “potentially franchise-altering discovery.”
“Nowhere does it say we actually have to throw it,” a Jets official said, slowly sliding a highlighted copy of the rulebook across the table. “We checked twice.”
The discovery has reportedly opened up significant possibilities for an organization that has spent much of the last several decades searching for increasingly complicated solutions to the quarterback position.
Under the proposed offensive philosophy, Geno would continue to take the majority of snaps but would primarily be responsible for handing the football off, pretending to hand the football off, or occasionally looking downfield before reconsidering.
Fourth-round rookie Cade is reportedly being developed for a similar role.
“We’re not eliminating the forward pass,” head coach clarified. “We’re just asking why everyone seems so obsessed with it.”
Team officials reportedly became even more enthusiastic after learning that punting remains legal.
“That changes everything,” one assistant coach said.
According to sources, the Jets have already installed several new plays for the upcoming season, including Run Left, Run Right, Run Middle, and an experimental fourth option currently listed in the playbook as Maybe Screen?
The team’s analytics department has also determined that interceptions drop dramatically when the quarterback doesn’t throw the football.
“Technically, our data shows a zero-percent interception rate on handoffs,” one team analyst explained. “We believe that’s sustainable.”
The League has yet to formally respond to the Jets’ request, though one league official reportedly confirmed that, yes, the forward pass remains optional.
Jets coaches were said to be “extremely encouraged” by the news.
The organization has now submitted a second inquiry asking whether touchdowns are mandatory.
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