Jets' Aaron Rodgers praises Zach Wilson's handling of 'tough' situation: 'He hasn’t made my life hell every day'

At the end of last season, Zach Wilson said that if the Jets brought in a new starting quarterback, he would do his best to “make that dude’s life hell in practice every day,” saying he’d do everything he could to prove to coaches that he still deserved the starting job. 

Exactly five months later, Aaron Rodgers stood at the podium at One Jets Drive, and while he called back to Wilson’s comments with a smile on his face, he had nothing but praise for how the 23-year-old former second overall pick has handled a “tough situation.”

In fact, Rodgers said the last six weeks “have been about the most fun I’ve had in a while,” while explaining how great of a quarterback room the Jets currently have.

“He’s been incredible. He hasn’t made my life hell every day,” Rodgers said with a smirk. “He’s been a joy to work with, and I give him so much credit because it’s a tough situation, what he went through and the frustration last year, probably a lot of the words he heard from people if he’s checking social media… that can be tough sometimes to deal with that. I think as a young player, confidence is so important. So, my job, [OC Nathaniel Hackett's] job, [Head coach Robert Saleh's] job, [passing game coordinator Todd Downing's] job is just to continue to encourage him and help him build that confidence back up.

“But I think that if he can step back and look at what he’s accomplished this offseason and see where he’s at from the first day I got here, which was the first day, to this last day, I think he’s done incredibly well.”

Wilson’s tenure with the Jets has certainly not gone to plan. In two seasons, Wilson has posted an 8-14 record as a starter, throwing 18 interceptions compared to 15 touchdowns while completing just 55.2 percent of his passes. At various points, Wilson lost his starting job to Mike White, casting doubt on his future with the team.

But Rodgers, whose friendship with Wilson predates their time together as teammates, has taken the young quarterback under his wing, and he’s already very impressed with what he’s seen on the field and in the meeting room.

“The key for him is just growth and learning and then kind of building everything back up,” Rodgers said, “I think we stripped down some of his fundamentals and I think you’ve seen him throw the ball on time and make accurate throws and good decisions, and I love it. I Sometimes that best thing that can happen is like what happened. I popped my calf and then I’m on the shelf for a few days and he gets a chance to take a ton of reps and make some mistakes and learn from those mistakes.

“He and I had a good friendship coming in. We spent some time together off the field and I have a lot of love for him, and even more respect for the way he’s handled things and made me feel welcome and important, and also just been in my hip pocket learning, a ton of questions in the locker room, in the meeting room after hours, and I love that, because I feel like a big part of my role here is to not just play at a super high level for this team and help us win, but to make sure he’s ready when his time come. I really enjoy that opportunity.”

Rodgers isn’t the only one who’s been impresses by Wilson. Saleh said on Friday that Wilson has looked much more relaxed during OTAs than he has in the past, and his accuracy has seen a noticeable improvement.

“I feel like he’s done a really nice job. I give him a ton of credit cause it’s hard to do what he’s been asked to do,” said Saleh. “To be the second overall pick, to have two years of playing a lot of football, to then being asked to take a back seat to allow another man to [take over] to watch and learn from another man. From a personal standpoint, it’s very humbling to be in his shoes right now, but at the same time the way he’s attacked it, his demeanor, his personality, the attitude at which he’s done it he’s been very positive through this whole thing.

“I really look at him and just his overall footwork and his demeanor and how relaxed he is at throwing the football. He’s a lot more accurate. Obviously, he’s learning a lot of new verbiage and being asked to do a heck of a lot more than he did in the past, we’re just putting more on his plate. And I think he’s handling it very, very well. I’m very excited to see him continue to get better.”

Saleh was asked if he had spoken to Wilson about the importance of attacking training camp, as it represents one of the last times this season in which he would get consistent practice opportunities and playing time before Rodgers takes over during the regular season.

“I think he knows, it goes without saying. He knows he’s next man up and he’s one snap away and I think professionals know that,” Saleh said. “I think he’s built the right way and he’s gonna prepare as if he’s the starter regardless. Again, I speak for everybody who’s on an NFL roster that you are preparing that way. It goes without saying. You always have the pressure to be at your absolute best and when you step on the field to be your absolute best and whatever happens, happens.”

Wilson obviously isn’t happy with how things have gone two years into his NFL career, but he told reporters on Friday that he’s ready to make the most out of this opportunity to step back and learn from one of the game’s all-time greats.

And he believes he’ll be a better player for it in the long run.

“Of course I would like to be the guy, so at first you’re not always happy about that, but I’m extremely psyched that out of any quarterback we could have brought in, it was [Rodgers],” Wilson said. “I had been talking with him this offseason. I was with him early in the offseason before any of this kind of was even getting talked about. So, we got to spend some time together and it was really cool to see how it all went together.

“I have to look at kind of where I’m at as a quarterback and how I can look to be the best I can be, and I do think this can be a big part of it. I think what he brings to the table, what Coach Hack and Downey bring to the table, could be really good for me and my development, and then for this offense of course, too.”