Cade Klubnik out to prove he is a 'winner' with New York Jets

Cade Klubnik is a winner and that’s not this writer’s opinion, that’s the quarterback’s own take. The former Clemson star was a fourth round pick by the New York Jets last month, a stark contrast from where he was projected just a year ago.

Still, battling through an adversity-filled 2025 season at Clemson built him for this moment. HTat’s the way Klubnik sees it.

Even if you don’t believe he is a “winner” as he says, he’s out to prove a lot of people wrong. That’s not cockiness, that’s just how he has to be at the position of QB.

“In my mind, I’m a winner,” Klubnik said, via NFL.com. “I don’t mean that in a boastful way, I just think that’s the mentality you have to have as a quarterback. I think that my résumé has kind of showed that as well. But this past year, we didn’t win as much. We started out the year 3-5 at Clemson. It was a tough place to be. That’s a really tough place to be. With my senior year, 19 starters coming back and huge aspirations and dreams that we had as a team and we didn’t really fulfill those.

“Battled two major injuries throughout the year. Sitting there 3-5 with all of our dreams and goals out the window, kind of had to look in the mirror and look to my teammates and say this is bigger than us, this is gonna be special. We ended up turning that thing around, going to win four straight at the end of the year.”

Klubnik’s stat line took a hit in 12 games, where he went 7-5 as a starter in 2025. He threw for 2,943 yards, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 65.6% completion percentage, while being limited to 94 rushing yards and four touchdowns. 

But the year prior, Klubnik threw for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 63.4% completion percentage, 463 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Klubnik helped Clemson win the ACC and get to the College Football Playoff.

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn knows he has to win. The Jets went 3-14 in his first season and are still searching for their franchise quarterback. Perhaps Klubnik is that winner he says he is.

“(Cade is) a really smart man, so I don’t think he’s swimming as much as you probably think he is and that’s a lot because of the way the coaches are teaching them,” Glenn said Friday, per the team website. “But listen, we’re going to push the envelope with that player and see exactly where he’s at and how he’s going to be able to operate with our offense. 

“Obviously, you’re going to see him a lot in the preseason and things like that. Again, he was a guy that we targeted, we’re happy that we got him and look forward to seeing him come training camp and things like that.”