All of the attention for the New York Jets in recent weeks has been on quarterback Zach Wilson. The team continues to trot him out as the starting quarterback in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers despite mounting evidence that he isn’t capable of handling such a role.
Wilson is completing 59.8 percent of his passes this season, throwing for 1,863 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. To emphasize how low the bar has been for him, those numbers are all massive improvements from what he produced in his first two seasons in the NFL.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has gone from completely dreadful to just bad. The Jets have had chances to win games with him under center, but he has made mistakes at the most inopportune times to torpedo their chances of winning.
Depending on where you look, he is doing it once again when it comes to their playoff odds. The Jets opted to stay pat, sticking with Wilson instead of bringing in someone else to replace Rodgers and it could ultimately cost people their jobs.
Missing the postseason, even without Rodgers, could be considered a failure by management. If that happens, some major changes could be on the horizon. Former Jets quarterback and NFL MVP turned analyst, Boomer Esiason, believes that should include Wilson moving on.
He has been a supporter of Wilson since the Jets selected him. But, during a segment on his radio show, ‘Boomer and Gio’ on WFAN, Esiason admitted that a change of scenery could be best for both parties.
“I think for this young man, he needs to get the hell out of here and go play somewhere else, simply because this is just gonna come crashing down on top of him,” Esiason said about Wilson during Monday’s edition of the WFAN “Boomer and Gio” program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. “It’s not all his fault, but I do understand why people are frustrated with him…He is tantalizing, and you can see why he’s tantalizing.”
It isn’t Wilson’s fault that the Jets selected him second overall, placing immense expectations and pressure on him. He has shown some improvements on the field, but if he didn’t have the draft pedigree that he has, the team would have moved on a long time ago.
New York put all of their eggs in the Rodgers basket and didn’t have a contingency plan in place. Other veterans were available to be signed as backups this offseason, but the team stubbornly stuck with Wilson.
The Jets are currently facing the consequences of that decision. With a 4-5 record, Week 11 is a must-win game against the Buffalo Bills. Falling to 4-6 with two matchups against the Miami Dolphins coming in the following four weeks could be the nail in the coffin for their season.
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