Jets sign QB Davis Webb to practice squad

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets, one day after naming Sam Darnold their starting quarterback, on Tuesday added one of his former Pac-12 rivals to their practice squad: Davis Webb.

Webb, a third-round pick of the New York Giants in 2017, was surprisingly released Sunday by the Giants. He went unclaimed on waivers and became a free agent.

"He's somebody you looked at coming out [in the draft]," Jets coach Todd Bowles said. "To have him available and being able to [put him] on the practice squad, it's something that intrigued us, with the size and the arm. You're not surprised or surprised he's available. We just thought we'd take a look at him. He was a good guy to sign."

The Jets have only Darnold and Josh McCown on their 53-man roster. The plan was to keep undrafted rookie John Wolford on the practice squad, but they decided to change when Webb became available.

Wolford was released.

Webb didn't play a single snap as a rookie and was active for only one game. He received most of the second-team reps in training camp, behind Eli Manning, so it was a stunner when the Giants decided to release Webb in favor of rookie Kyle Lauletta and Alex Tanney.

"I didn't need a reason [from the Giants]," Webb said Tuesday. "They made a decision; I didn't agree with it. I don't think many people did, especially my teammates. But at the same time, I've moved on."

General manager Mike Maccagnan saw Darnold play in person for the first time while scouting Webb during a USC-Cal game on Oct. 27, 2016. Maccagnan flew to Cal to scout Webb, who was draft-eligible, but a member of the USC staff told the GM before the game to keep an eye on the Trojans' freshman quarterback.