Who will replace quarterback Zach Wilson now that the Jets have decided to bench him?
Though we can admit it’s not surprising, the decision to bench your starting QB mid season, is always one that will draw attention.
The good times have not been rolling in New York. With the Jets now on a record of 6-4, following an inexplicable loss to the New England Patriots, the team has taken the decision to bench their starting quarterback.
New York Jets set to bench quarterback Zach Wilson
According to reports, the New York Jets are about to make a change in the quarterback department. With Jets players informed about the decision during Wednesday’s team meeting, it’s now confirmed that that Zach Wilson will not start Sunday’s game vs. the Chicago Bears.
Mike White to replace Zach Wilson at QB
With Wilson set to sit down, it will be Mike White who is tasked with getting the Jets back on track. White, who has been picked ahead of veteran Joe Flacco, is a former Super Bowl MVP and actually started the first three games of this campaign when Wilson was out injured. His record across those three games was 1-2 with a 58.7% completion rate, 901 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Incidentally, White also started three games last season and finished with the same 1-2 record. One of those performances in particular - against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 - was stellar. White threw for 405 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 34-31 victory.
How did the Jets and Zach Wilson get here?
In truth the writing was on the wall after last Sunday’s game. In a game where the Jets defense held the New England Patriots to just 10 points, Wilson was unable to inspire his offense to a victory and ultimately fell to a 10-3 loss to their division rivals. On the night, Wilson completed 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards. What’s worse, is he missed several basic passes and only by share luck saw a handful of would-be interceptions dropped. In total, the Jets offense recorded 103 yards on the night and on the whole gained just two yards in the entire second half. Following the game head coach Robert Saleh would not commit to starting Wilson again, before calling his offense “dog sh--.”
If that wasn’t enough, Wilson then refused to acknowledge his role in the Jets defeat when questioned about their embarrassing performance after the game. Indeed, when asked directly if he felt he had let down the Jets’ defense following their incredible performance, Wilson immediately responded with a short and simple “no.” It’s understood that “more than a few” in the Jets’ locker room didn’t take kindly to Wilson’s apparent indifference about the situation, with some allegedly saying that he was “walking around after the game ‘like he wasn’t the problem.’”
Zach Wilson still has a future in New York
Across the seven games that Wilson has played this season, he’s completed 55.6% of his passes to the tune of 1,279 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. In terms of where that stands relative to the big picture, Wilson has the fewest passing touchdowns across 20 career starts among any active quarterback with 13. On top of that, he’s never completed more than two passing touchdowns in a single game, has more games with fewer than 100 passing yards than 300 passing yards AND he ranks last in the league in completion percentage for the last two seasons. Be that as it may, it’s interesting to note that Saleh is still standing by his QB, saying that Wilson’s career in New York is not over and as such he will in fact play again this season. Indeed, the coach claimed that his signal caller simply “needs a reset.” Whether it will motivate Wilson to do better is the question Jets fans will want an answer to.