The Jets will soon check another depth chart-configuration box at quarterback. Robert Saleh said Wednesday Zach Wilson will move back into uniform by becoming the team’s backup in Week 15.
Since being benched following the Jets’ second loss to the Patriots, Wilson spent the past three games as the team’s third-stringer. He is now back in front of Joe Flacco, who has been demoted for a second time this season. Flacco, Wilson and new starter Mike White have each spent time in all three positions on the team’s depth chart this season.
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For those keeping track of this jagged journey, Flacco has gone from QB1 (due to Wilson’s injury) to 2 to 3 to 2 and now back to 3. Wilson has gone from 1 to 3 to 2, with White climbing from 3 to 2 to 1 this season. Saleh began the week noncommittal about Wilson dressing again, but Saleh has said the hope is the former No. 2 overall pick plays again this season. The second-year Jets HC praised Wilson’s accountability since his demotion.
Wilson’s personal QBs coach, former Jets assistant John Beck, said (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com) he does not think the former No. 2 overall pick ever expected to be benched. Wilson is the first top-five QB draftee to be benched for performance reasons in his second season since Akili Smith 22 years ago. The Jets have shown a higher offensive floor with White, even though the team has lost two of the latter’s three starts (to admittedly strong opposition, in the Vikings and Bills). It is difficult to see them pivoting back to Wilson, though White was forced to leave Sunday’s game twice after hard hits.
White is expected to be ready for Week 15, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes, adding that his rib injury is believed to be a pain tolerance issue. White’s toughness in Buffalo earned him rave reviews from teammates. This came weeks after a report surfaced indicating select Jets were skeptical about Wilson this offseason. In 129 attempts, White is completing 62% of his passes. That is down from his 132-attempt 2021, when the former Cowboys fifth-rounder completed 66.7% of his throws. White sports a 49.1 QBR after three starts; his 2021 QBR sat at 50.5 before Wilson retook the reins after recovering from a PCL injury.
The Jets initially acquired White in 2019, when he signed with their practice squad. White received an offer to join the second iteration of the XFL, Cimini notes, adding that the rebooting league was proposing “significantly more” than the base NFL practice squad pay ($136K for a season at the time). But he joined the Jets as a depth option during Sam Darnold‘s bout with mononucleosis in September 2019. Then-backup Trevor Siemian broke his ankle during his first (and only) start as a Jet, leading to the team using Luke Falk as its next option.
“At the time, it was pretty tough,” White said, via Cimini, of his NFL-or-XFL decision. “I knew I was an NFL quarterback — I wasn’t an XFL quarterback — but [the XFL] was an opportunity to play and I knew I needed film. The only film I had was preseason from Dallas, and it wasn’t the greatest film, to be honest.”
White did not play in 2019 or 2020 but broke through in 2021, when he became the first Jets passer since Vinny Testaverde in 2000 to top 400 yards in a game. White then went down with an injury in his next start and threw four interceptions against the Bills upon returning. Despite Wilson’s move to second string, White does not appear in jeopardy of losing his job. If the Jets fall out of playoff contention, however, that would probably change. White is a free agent at season’s end; so is Flacco. Two years remain on Wilson’s rookie contract.
I’m a huge Jets fan. I like White. He has done a nice job. However, I think the media and the majority of Jets fans went overboard hating on Zach. Yes, his fundamentals need work but so do almost every other 1st round pick from 2 years ago. Jets leaned heavily on their run game and defense winning and Zach passed the ball under or at 20x a game. LaFleur’s playcalling is horrendous when they play teams with good defenses. We saw it in that 2nd NE game and we saw it for 3 quarters in the Buffalo game. Zach took all the blame. He’s got great talent, but needs time to develop and an OC that let’s him throw the dang ball more than 20x and more than 5 yard plays. LaFleur stop game-planning scared! Air that pig skin out!
As a fellow Jets fan, I think you’re going too easy on Wilson. I’m not one of these people who thinks White is a viable starter, but I think Saleh had the perfect criticism of Wilson when he praised White a while back as “making the easy look easy.” I defended Wilson a lot after last year. He lost his QB coach right before the season, he had a rocky line, he had no veteran in the QB room with him most of the season, and he was making a leap not just from college, but from a lesser conference. But this year, he’s made it hard to defend him. I’ve never seen a QB run more than ten yards backward under pressure so frequently. The number of times he would run to the sideline and try to force a hero throw was unacceptable. And given what White and Flacco have done, it’s damning that Wilson had such a hard time getting the ball to Garrett Wilson. Now I think it was odd to bench him right when they were going to go from four straight matchups against tough defenses to two straight matchups against cupcakes, and I still think it’s probably better to get more evaluation/development time with him than to trot out the other options, but Wilson did more to force his way out of the job than hold onto it. He needs more than work on his fundamentals. His feet were a mess, his eyes were a mess, and his reaction to pressure was a mess. LaFleur has managed to put Mike White in some positions to succeed. Wilson needs to be able to make something out of those opportunities.
I agree with your analysis. Wilson is slow going through his progressions, and needs to speed that up. That will come with time and experience, and isn’t uncommon in young QBs. I still believe in his talent, and don’t envy Saleh in making the tough decisions.
It should come in time, but he’s looked unusually bad and made things worse so often. He makes that offense look much harder to run than it is. He’s slow and then still doesn’t make good decisions. I’d love to see him figure it out, but I can’t imagine betting on it anymore.
Where were you when I need you?!?
– Sam Darnold
The Jets QB situation is simple. White starts until he gets hurt or the Jets are out of the playoff race.
Then Zach gets a chance to show us something before we go and draft a QB next year, and/or sign a mediocre veteran to bridge the gap.
If the defense and skill players are this good, we’ll just need league avg QB play to make the playoffs. Then hopefully we find a QB of the future in the draft.
50 year fan here – they are not drafting a QB next year. OL is the priority
Too bad White’s head on Wilson’s body isn’t an option
Lol very funny, well said about White and Wilson.
I think you’re wrong about drafting a QB though. They can get OL and a QB
OL is there, just injured. Center is the one spot I’d look at for the line.
How long is McGovern under contract? He’s been fairly solid. Tomlinson hasn’t lived up to his cost as of yet.
The bigger need is for offensive tackles given the injuries the Jets’ OTs have had.
I actually really like White. He amazed me with his ability to make reads and his toughness. I’m not sold completely as of yet as to his viability as a long term starter, but I think that he could convince me and others with time. He has made a handful of throws that were forced, and that I think could possibly be attributed to a lack of experience.
He does a good job taking what defenses give him, but he does eventually get too confident with his successes chipping away and makes a poorly read throw. That may end with more experience, possibly. I am most impressed with White’s ability to go through his reads after the snap. It’s very impressive for a young QB, especially today, when the old pocket scanners like Brady, Brees, and Manning are going out of style in favor of quick throws and timing routes.
That’s not to say that White doesn’t do that-in fact, he’s very good with timing, sometimes better than his starting receivers who occasionally run the wrong route or lag behind just to see the ball fly by to where they were supposed to be-but if White could combine his patience and timing with consistency in reading defensive alignments pre-snap, he’d be a great starter. That talent(beating defenses pre-snap) is a trait every elite QB has, but if it comes, it comes with experience. Some QBs have it but cannot progress through reads post-snap and adjust on the fly, which is something White already has shown signs of. All in all, he already naturally has some traits that most QBs don’t have at all, or have limited talent in that was gaining purely through experience.
Most offenses today would rather throw timing routes or use very limited, easy reads to keep their QB from taking too long working it out. Many use the QB’s athleticism to compensate for the deficiencies presented by that style. White has some of the ability to play in the pocket that is becoming less common, and can develop those abilities further through experience. There’s no guarantee that he will do so, and the Jets (or someone) will have to be willing to gamble on a low end pick. But I think that there’s a rare opportunity here to develop a surprisingly mature passer that already has a few uncommon traits for a QB of any age, let alone one of his youth. Again, no guarantees, just an opportunity.
“Wilson’s personal QBs coach, former Jets assistant John Beck, said he does not think the former No. 2 overall pick ever expected to be benched.”
Maybe that’s part of the problem, eh Johnny boy?? Entitled little brat never expected to actually have to work to keep his job.
it’s pretty rare that a 2nd overall QB gets benched. I don’t think that makes him self-entitled. I haven’t seen anyone on his team come out and say he doesn’t put the work in. In fact, the guy has a rep for being a film room/surface junkie.
I think it makes him self-entitled that he played as poorly as he has and expects to keep his job. Not to mention the lack of accountability he displayed after the New England game. Nobody should be above a benching, not even a former 2nd overall pick
It’s weird to see Flacco still around. Not because he can’t play anymore (as a back up) but because he’s made a ton of money. With a big family, I thought he would’ve already transitioned in to that lifestyle over football.
Especially since his recent contracts have all been for relatively paltry sums of money. Why take a chance on sustaining an Alex Smith-type injury when you’ve already banked nearly a quarter $billion?
He might just love the game.
(Actually not being sarcastic)
Next update will have the Jets scouting the Yankees and Mets bullpen for a good arm.
NYC tabloids and talk radio approve of that “Dumb Jock” idea.
Bring back Testaverde!!!!!!