New York Jets coach Rex Ryan has once again refused to confirm who his first-choice quarterback will be for the upcoming season.

Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez have been embroiled in a competition for the starting role throughout summer, with Ryan repeatedly shunning questions over who would be number one for the opening match of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 8.

Sanchez had appeared to be moving ahead in the race but suffered a shoulder injury during a pre-season match on Saturday, resulting in Ryan once again delaying the announcement as to who would be number one.

"There's still one more pre-season game to be played and I'm not going to put myself or anybody in a box here to say that, specifically, it's going to be this or this," Ryan told reporters.

"We'll let it play out and when we're ready to name a starter, we will. We've said from day one that there was no timetable on us announcing a starting quarterback.

"We're not going to rush the decision until we're completely comfortable with that decision and we'll stay by that. Hey, I don't know what else to say about it."

Meanwhile, Ryan has admitted that he regrets the injury suffered by Sanchez after he risked the quarterback in the fourth quarter of their match against the New York Giants.