Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham
The New York Jets tried to snag jilted quarterback Kevin O'Connell off waivers but were trumped by the Detroit Lions.
The Jets, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns submitted unsuccessful claims for O'Connell, a third-round draft pick last year for the New England Patriots.
The Jets' interest in O'Connell is, well, interesting.
Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens are Nos. 1 and 2 on the depth chart. Their third quarterback, Erik Ainge, has put together a nice preseason. He has completed 18 of 32 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Less than two weeks ago, Jets coach Rex Ryan praised Ainge.
"We have a super No. 3 quarterback," Ryan said. "That’s what he’s shown me.
"Could he be a No. 2 or a starter in this league? Probably. When we ended up drafting Sanchez, I never thought we could split the reps three ways, you know what I mean? Is it fair to him? All he does is go out and play.
"Like I said before, will he get a chance one day to be the starting quarterback of the Jets? He may. [Baltimore Ravens quarterback] Joe Flacco, as we said, went into the second-to-last preseason game [last year] as the No. 3 quarterback, and the rest is history."
Then could it be that O'Connell was on his way to help push Clemens out the door?
Clemens is entering the final year of his contract and almost certainly will be employed elsewhere in 2010.