The Jets cannot compete with the long-term stakes of the Giants’ decision to replace a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback with a first-round draft pick, but MetLife Stadium’s other tenant will be right on trend in the N.F.L. this Sunday, when the team sends out its third starting quarterback of the season — in Week 3.

Quarterbacks have been dropping like flies this season — six teams this week will start a quarterback who was a backup in training camp — and nowhere is the situation more convoluted than in New Jersey, where the Jets are quickly losing optimism in a season that began with high hopes thanks to several big signings and the hiring of Coach Adam Gase.

Sam Darnold, expected by many to turn into a franchise quarterback this season, started the Jets’ opener and watched as his team’s defense fell apart in a shocking loss to the Bills. A diagnosis of mononucleosis ahead of Week 2 put Darnold on the shelf indefinitely and made Trevor Siemian, a fourth-year afterthought, the starter on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns.