While the Jets' starting quarterback situation won't get any clearer tonight, their No. 3 quarterback situation will.
With Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez sitting out, incumbent third quarterback Greg McElroy sidelined by a knee injury and Graham Harrell not even signing until last night, Matt Simms will get his chance to shine when the Jets end an eventful preseason schedule against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium.
Those expected absences for the exhibition finale aren't the only reason Phil Simms' son appears to have a legitimate shot to knock off McElroy for the No. 3 job, though.
Paul J. Bereswill
Matt Simms
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Simms has actually had the better camp and outplayed McElroy in the Jets' first three preseason games, completing 11 of his 15 passes (73 percent) for 193 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
That's a big step up from McElroy, who is 11-for-19 (58 percent) for 145 yards and a touchdown. McElroy hasn't thrown an interception, either, but he's been sacked three times to once for Simms.
McElroy also is suffering from a case of bad timing. The third-year pro re-injured his knee in practice this week, according to a source, and is not scheduled to play.
McElroy has been dealing with knee and ankle injuries all month, in fact, and has missed the last two preseason games.
That creates a big opening for Simms, who will start and play most, if not all, of the game against what was one of the NFL's worst defenses last season. Philadelphia also is transitioning to a 3-4 defense this year, and the switch hasn't exactly been a smooth one under new coach Chip Kelly.
McElroy is taking the high road when the subject of possibly losing his roster spot is broached.
"I'm happy for Matt," McElroy said Tuesday. "He's done a great job, and as a teammate, I'm thrilled to see him out there executing as well as he has."
How much Simms plays will be determined by Harrell's availability.
The former Packers backup, released last week after being beaten out by Vince Young, just agreed to terms with the Jets yesterday.
So Harrell will need a crash course in the Jets' offense if he is going to play tonight. But one of the reasons the Jets signed Harrell is because he is familiar with the basics of the West Coast offense used by new Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg from playing in Green Bay.
One thing appears certain: Smith won't play in order to protect him for the regular season, while Sanchez is sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained when Rex Ryan controversially used him in the fourth quarter of last week's 24-21 overtime win over the Giants.
Ryan actually sounds more impressed with the Simms-McElroy competition than he does with what has been an unimpressive pillow fight between Smith and Sanchez for the starting job.
"That's great competition," Ryan said Monday when asked about the Simms-McElroy duel. "We've said there's different levels of competition on this football team, but certainly that is a tremendous competition."
As with his starter, Ryan isn't showing his hand with the No. 3 job.
"I feel confident in Simms because, I'll tell you what, he's earned respect and everything else," Ryan said. "The thing about Greg is, he thinks he's the smartest guy in the building because he is. Obviously, I feel good about those guys."
bhubbuch@nypost.com
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