Jets doing what's best for franchise by evaluating Zach Wilson's starting role

The Jets were coddling Zach Wilson. At least that’s been the feeling ever since New York drafted him last year. He was handed the starting quarterback job with zero competition. Had his personal instructor added to the staff midway through his rookie year. He escaped any form of substantial criticism from coaches for the role he played in the team’s failures over the last year-and-a-half, but never failed to receive praise for their successes.

That’s not totally uncommon. Most teams handle young passers with kid gloves.

But those days are now over.

Robert Saleh announced on Monday, for the first time while healthy, Wilson is not guaranteed to start against the Bears on Sunday. The Jets are “keeping everything on the table” involving a potential quarterback change as they evaluate what’s wrong with their offense.

Translation: The scholarship’s over.

Good for Saleh. Good for the Jets.

Now this season really is about winning.

This might seem a bit sudden, considering just two weeks ago the Jets stunningly beat the Bills with Wilson under center, but the 23-year-old’s unquestioned spot atop the quarterbacking depth chart has been consistently deteriorating. 

Wilson enjoyed an up-and-down summer where, by most measures, 37-year-old Joe Flacco outperformed him. He then injured his knee in the preseason opener, which sidelined him the first three weeks of the regular season. He’s endured questionable play (at best) since his reinsertion into the starting lineup.

In seven games, Wilson completed 105 of 189 passes (55.6 percent) for 1,279 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 72.6. Wilson, among 33 qualifying quarterbacks, ranks 32nd in passer rating (72.6), 33rd in completion percentage (55.6), 31st in passing touchdowns to interceptions (4-5), and 31st in passing touchdowns per attempt (2.1 percent). 

There have been 95 QBs drafted in 2000 or later to have started at least 20 games. Wilson ranks 92nd out of 95 in EPA/DB through 20 starts, per True Media.

Flacco (three games started) still leads the Jets in passing touchdowns (5) this year.

The cold truth is that the Jets (6-4) have spent the majority of this season winning in spite of their young quarterback. That’s why this all has felt a bit like a ticking time bomb. The concerns with Wilson’s play were shared amongst many in the locker room, but few let them reach louder than a whisper because, despite Wilson’s struggles, the Jets were still winning. 

There were some disagreements during practice with Wilson’s poor weekday performances, but aside from wideout Elijah Moore, whose trade request involved concerns with Wilson, none made their issues public.

Then came Sunday where, in a 10-3 loss to the Patriots, Wilson completed just 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards.

Wilson shed himself of any accountability after the game, saying he didn’t feel the offense let the defense (which allowed just three points) down. This rubbed a number of teammates the wrong way, infuriating many others, as SNY reported on Sunday. The defense and receivers were specifically ticked off. Denzel Mims and rookie Garrett Wilson became so frustrated they lashed out at Wilson on the field. Others felt there was nothing Wilson could to that would lead to any criticism internally — he was above the team.

It’s easy to look past or deal with a teammate’s struggles when you’re still winning. That becomes much harder when those same struggles cost you games, as Wilson’s did in both games against the Patriots.

Wilson did not address the defense, or team as a whole, on Monday, defensive lineman Quinnen Williams said. The coaching staff was critical of Wilson in team meetings, sources told SNY, something Saleh acknowledged during his conference call on Monday, but that was never going to be enough.

The locker room wanted answers. Wilson’s latest performance led many to feel the season was slipping away. Publicly, players said the right thing. Internally, there was the makings of a divide. What really was the team trying to accomplish this season?

On Monday, Saleh provided an answer that will bring every member of it together.

If Wilson continues to hold this team back, then Saleh will make the switch to either Mike White or Flacco.

“I’m going to go to the tape and evaluate everything,” Saleh said. “I think we all need to be able to sit back and just look at what’s best for this organization and this team.”

This is the first time Saleh has ever opened the door to a potential quarterback change. It’s a dramatic shift from his stance up to this point. It’s been Wilson’s job the moment he stepped through the doors at One Jets Drive — Saleh assured all of that multiple times over the last 1.5 years. Even on Sunday, after the loss to New England, Saleh said a quarterback change was the “furthest thing” from his mind.

That all changed when he boarded the flight home from Providence. Saleh began reviewing the film. He saw a “championship-quality” defense. He saw playmakers at receiver, talent at tight end, quality running backs and a competent offensive line. Then he saw a quarterback who simply has not developed at the same rate as his teammates.

The Jets did not expect to be this good, this fast. But now that they are, Saleh can’t ask the rest of his players to give him their all when he’s not doing what he knows is best for them. Players see everything — meetings, practices, games. They know who gives them the best shot to win.

This isn’t about giving up on Wilson. It’s simply about making sure the Jets are doing what is best for the Jets, as a whole, in 2022.

“By the time the players get here on Wednesday,” Saleh said, “we’ve got to put together a great game plan and show them reasons why we’re going to go put our best foot forward on Sunday.”

Saleh isn’t ready to bench Wilson yet. He needs to finish his evaluation. A personal family matter with one of his coaches delayed his normal next-day tasks and was the reason he was two hours late (it had nothing to do with football, Zach Wilson, or any of the other quarterbacks) to his scheduled media conference call. He expects to conclude the evaluation on Tuesday, then make his decision on Wednesday.

There’s likely a better-than-50-percent chance Wilson still starts on Sunday against the Bears, too. Chicago has the NFL’s 30th-ranked defense in terms of DVOA (Football Outsiders). That’s a good get-right game for a struggling passer.

But if Wilson’s poor play continues?

Saleh, for the first time, is willing to do what is best for the rest.

The Jets are a win-now team.

And now they’re ready to make winning the top priority.