Jets season opener vs Browns

Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) during game against New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford, NJ 9/13/15 (Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The Jets quarterback competition is open. Wide open. Whoever is the better passer between Josh McCown, Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg will be the starter Week 1.

And if it's up to McCown, the veteran of the group, he'll be the guy. But it won't stop him from helping the other two along the way.

"You don't really know something until you have to teach it," McCown said via conference call Wednesday. "I want to give away what I can because, ultimately, it will help me be a better player, and it will also help Hack and Bryce."

Hackenberg was the Jets second-round pick in 2016. Petty a fourth rounder a year earlier. The hope, from general manager Mike Maccagnan, is one of the two will eventually be the team's franchise quarterback.

But neither has much game experience. Hackenberg hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game, and Petty struggled in six outings last year. McCown, at 37, has enough to go around.

He was the Cardinals' talented third-round pick from 2002-2005. A backup for the Lions (2006), Raiders (2007) and Panthers (2008-2009). He was a veteran mentor for the Bears (2011-2013), and big-name free-agent for the Bucs (2004). He spent the last two seasons as a spot-duty starter for the Browns.

And now McCown's with the Jets in a role to-be-defined. He hopes it's as a starter. The Jets' future with Hackenberg or Petty can wait another year.

"That's the goal," McCown said of starting the entire year. "You go in to compete and win the job. If it changes, it changes. My mindset is to come and learn the offense, do everything I can to master it this spring and training camp. Then, if I'm the guy, play the position as well as I can until it changes.

"Obviously, as a competitor, you don't expect that to change. You don't want that to change. I plan to go out and play well."

Ever since a breakout 2013 season -- McCown threw 13 touchdowns and 1 interception in five starts for the Bears -- McCown has been in a bit of a rut. He's 2-20 as a starter, has thrown 29 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, and been benched for younger options several times -- Mike Glennon (2014), Johnny Manziel (2015), Robert Griffin III (2016).

But he still believes he can start. He still believes he can play well. Either way, he'll use his past experiences to help those in the Jets' quarterback meeting room.

"You never want to go through those times, obviously, but they were good experiences because you learn," McCown said. "For me, as an older player, you can kind of get complacent and just settle in. Or you can just go, 'Man, let me look at those experiences,' and go, 'They were good experiences. They were good because I learned from them.'

"I look forward to working with Hack and Bryce, trying to give away the things I've learned in my career and hopefully make their journeys better throughout their career. That's something I believe in as a person, in every walk of life.

"If you can give something away and can make someone else's journey better, you'll have a different sense of peace."

Connor Hughes may be reached at chughes@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connor_J_Hughes. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.