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Joe Namath cautiously optimistic on Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold

What does Joe Namath think of Sam Darnold, nine games into a career that Jets fans hope will produce the next Joe Namath?

“I think the same thing I believe most everyone thinks of him,” Namath said on Tuesday before being honored at the annual March of Dimes Greater New York Market sports luncheon in Manhattan.

In short: cautious optimism.

“You watch him in college, you see a guy that can play,” said Namath, who 50 years ago quarterbacked the Jets to their only Super Bowl. “You watch him in pro ball, especially that first game [against the Lions] – regardless of the first pass (a pick-6) – you see a guy that can play.