Former Clemson star Cade Klubnik made his NFL preseason debut on Friday night as the starting quarterback for the New York Jets in their contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
It was a solid performance from Klubnik, who went 5-of-7 passing for 56 yards. He did not throw an interception or a touchdown, though he made some nice passes while leading the Jets to a field goal on their opening drive. He played two series. with the Jets scoring 10 total points, as the second drive ended in a rushing touchdown by Braelon Allen.
Klubnik got the start in place of Jets starting QB Geno Smith, who sat out the preseason opener due to foot soreness.
After being drafted by the Jets in the fourth round of April’s NFL Draft, Klubnik is competing with Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook to be Smith’s backup as the No. 2 QB.
Klubnik spent four years at Clemson from 2022-25, including the last three years as the full-time starting signal caller. During his career, the two-time ACC Championship Game MVP threw for 10,123 yards with 73 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over 49 games (40 starts), while also rushing for 878 yards and 17 touchdowns on 369 rushing attempts.
Once considered a potential first-round pick, Klubnik’s draft stock suffered with a disappointing senior season in 2025, and he didn’t come off the board until Day 3 of this year’s NFL Draft. That’s when the Jets traded up to get him, dealing away two fourth-round picks (Nos. 128 and 140) to the Cincinnati Bengals in order to move up 18 spots and grab him in the fourth round with the No. 110 overall pick.
Ahead of his preseason debut, Klubnik expressed confidence about stepping onto the NFL field for his first game action, but is staying humble and knows he still has a lot of room to grow.
“I think for me, you have to be confident stepping on the field,” Klubnik said. “And where the line is, I would also say that you have to be aware of where you’re at and humble enough to realize that I’m not where I want to be yet and I need to go get better.
“And I think that if you’re cocky, you’re realizing, ‘I’ve arrived.’ You are everything you’re going to be. But I’m not where I want to be at, you know?”
Check out some of what they’re saying about Klubnik’s preseason debut: