For starters, Jets' preseason opener vs. Commanders likely a sideline event

Jets coach Robert Saleh knew his plan for playing starters in Saturday’s preseason opener as early as Thursday, the last time he met with reporters.

He declined to say what that plan was, but he dropped a big hint when he was asked about how his philosophy on preseason games has evolved in four years.

“It depends on what your team is,” he said. “My first year here, [we] had a very young team that needed to play, new system.

“We’re going on Year Four now, especially with defense, we’ve got some veterans, and so it’s just not as important. You get a lot of good work here in practice, so it really depends on where your team is.

“It’s not a matter of they should play just to play. It’s more in terms of getting the work in that you need to with the ultimate goal of being prepared for Week 1.”

Translation: Do not expect to see much action from starters when the Jets face the Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Most of the rookies will get their feet wet, including first-round draft pick Olu Fashanu at offensive tackle.

But the veterans figure to be hanging out on the sideline with Aaron Rodgers, who is coming back from a torn Achilles tendon. He did not so much as practice Thursday when the Jets held a joint workout with Washington on a rainy day. It was too wet.

But fans might not see much of Rodgers’ veteran backup quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, on the field either. Again, Saleh said he knew the plan for Taylor but was not ready to share it publicly.

Rodgers might lobby Saleh to make at least a brief appearance when the Jets face the Giants in the preseason finale on Aug. 24.

But mostly, even the team’s biggest names will just go with the flow and let Saleh and his staff figure this out.

Asked if he would like to play, cornerback Sauce Gardner said, “It doesn’t really matter. I wouldn’t be against it. I really don’t care.

“I love the game of football, so if he tells me, ‘You’re playing for this long,’ I’m going to play.”

But the reality is that the joint practices the Jets are holding with the Commanders, Panthers and Giants mitigates much of the need to bother with live games.

Gardner loved every minute of the wet workout on Thursday, including breaking up a pass from Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick in the draft.

“It felt like game day,” he said. “That’s all you can ask for when you know you’re probably not going to be playing in a preseason game but you still have the opportunity to line up against another team.”

Gardner joked that the fact that it rained through practice, then stopped when practice ended, reminded him of a pattern he has seen on game days at MetLife Stadium.

He will get his chance to play in a game eventually — if not soon, then surely on Sept. 9 against the 49ers on “Monday Night Football.”

For now, though, starting starters figures to be a non-starter for the Jets.

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.