Joe Flacco

QB Joe Flacco Signs With Browns

November 19th, 2023 at 10:16pm CST by Ely Allen

In light of the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Browns have elected to add some veteran starting experience to their roster in the form of former Super Bowl MVP passer Joe Flacco. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, while Flacco is heading to Cleveland on a practice squad deal, it’s expected that he will get promoted to the active roster. The team has since announced the move.

The Browns know Flacco well. In what will now be a 16-year career, in which he’s seen time with the Ravens, Broncos, and Jets, Flacco has a career record of 18 wins and only three losses to the Browns. In the age-old debate of whether or not Flacco was ever an elite quarterback, over 21 contests, the Browns have perhaps seen the most elite football of the 38-year-old’s career.

The Browns’ newest transaction serves three-fold. First, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, Flacco is coming to Cleveland to serve as a backup to rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who earned his first career win over the Steelers today in his second start this season. Second, the grizzled veteran will be asked to stand as a mentor for Thompson-Robinson based on his myriad experience with three different teams and several more offensive coordinators over the years.

The third purpose Flacco serves could be the worst best-case scenario. During a season in which the Browns are looking to earn their first playoff berth since 2020, and their second since 2002, Flacco boasts one of the more legendary playoff records in NFL history. Despite all of his playoff experience coming in Baltimore from 2014 and earlier, Flacco has a 10-5 record in the postseason with a 25:10 touchdown to interception ratio and a Super Bowl ring. Granted, this potential benefit will only come to fruition with a worst best-case scenario in which the team is still able to make the playoffs but Thompson-Robinson either gets hurt or proves ineffective.

Flacco wasn’t the only veteran quarterback interested in the job, though, as another former Raven in Robert Griffin III recently lobbied for a tryout. While Griffin actually has experience in Cleveland, he hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2020 season. Despite Flacco not performing as a consistent starter since his first season in Denver in 2019, Flacco has managed to not only appear in a game every year since then, but he also has started in a game in each year since.

With the expectation that Flacco is coming to back up Thompson-Robinson, it opens the question of if the Browns have seen the end of the P.J. Walker-experiment. In three games of significant action this year, Walker has led the squad to two wins and a loss, but he’s been erratic with only one touchdown to five interceptions and two fumbles.

Regardless, the Browns will have three options in the quarterbacks room moving forward. Thompson-Robinson will get first dibs on the starting job, while Flacco and Walker will support from the bench. With one of the league’s best defenses, that may be just enough to get Cleveland to the postseason. And, perhaps, even more.

Browns To Work Out Joe Flacco

November 17th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

4:04pm: Flacco’s visit will not produce an agreement at least at this time, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. As he notes, the update may be a simple matter of the veteran not being able to suit up for Week 11 so soon after the workout and thus not being needed on the roster. In any case, both team and player will assess where they stand at this point with the potential to work out a deal down the road.

8:42am: Browns GM Andrew Berry indicated the Browns’ QB plan will hinge on Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker, but the team will add a third passer in the wake of Deshaun Watson‘s upcoming surgery. A workout will determine how Cleveland proceeds.

Joe Flacco will audition for the team today, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. While a multi-QB workout has been rumored, ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter notes Flacco is the only passer the Browns are bringing in today. The former Super Bowl-winning Ravens QB expressed interest in playing this season, and he later reached out to the Jets following Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear. Nothing came of that, and Flacco has remained in free agency since his latest Jets contract expired in March.

Now 38, Flacco is far removed from his prime. He spent time at all three positions on the Jets’ QB depth chart last season. The two-stint Jet began last season as a starter, however, due to a Zach Wilson injury. The Jets later pivoted to Mike White as their starter upon benching Wilson, though Flacco factored into the AFC East team’s past three QB plans.

The Browns are likely looking to add a practice squad QB, Rapoport notes. Options are obviously limited, especially with the Rams signing Carson Wentz last week. This addition is not certain to occur today, but cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot adds the Browns will have a third QB on their roster before their Week 12 game against the Broncos.

Cleveland will turn back to Thompson-Robinson this week, doing so after the fifth-round rookie’s previous start led to a quick demotion. Walker has completed only 49% of his passes this season, and with the Browns showing enough confidence in Thompson-Robinson they traded Josh Dobbs to the Cardinals in August, they will see how the UCLA product fares after a full week of practice reps.

The Ravens traded Flacco to the Broncos in 2019, doing so after moving to Lamar Jackson on a full-time basis. Following that Denver one-off, the former Super Bowl MVP has been with the Eagles and Jets during the 2020s. Not seeing any game action with Philly, Flacco received nine Jets starts from 2020-22. He went 1-8 in those outings; the win came in Cleveland. Flacco directed a come-from-behind victory in Week 2 of last season, carving up a then-suspect Browns defense during a 307-yard, four-touchdown passing day. The 15-year veteran did not sustain that form, with the Jets giving White and then Chris Streveler work later in 2022.

It appears the Browns are only planning to turn to other QBs if they are unsatisfied with Flacco’s current form. Flacco signing with Cleveland would make him the NFL’s second-oldest active passer, behind only Rodgers. Flacco has made 160 career starts. While Berry had become the Browns’ GM by the time Flacco signed with the Eagles in 2021, assistant GM Catherine Raiche was in Philly during Flacco’s months-long stay. The Eagles traded Flacco back to the Jets in October 2021.

Jets Have Contacted Only Chad Henne, Colt McCoy; Latest On Aaron Rodgers’ Recovery

September 17th, 2023 at 10:06pm CST by Rory Parks

The Jets are 1-1 and reeling from Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles injury, which ended the future Hall of Famer’s season after four snaps and thrust Zach Wilson back into the starting lineup. We heard in the immediate aftermath of the Rodgers news that New York was exploring the free agent market for veteran passers and had inquired on retired QB Chad Henne.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) confirms that the Jets have indeed reached out to Henne, who has rebuffed their overtures. “The timing doesn’t work,” Henne said.

Gang Green has also contacted Colt McCoy, who was released by the Cardinals on cutdown day and who was mentioned as a possible Jets target several days ago. McCoy, 37, indicated that he has several offers in hand and expects to sign with a club shortly. He had been dealing with an elbow injury, though he should be ready to play this week.

The Jets told both Henne and McCoy that if they were to sign with the team, they would be doing so with the understanding that Wilson is the starter. As a team source told Russini, “[w]e have Zach. Zach Wilson is our best option.”

Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was pleased with what Wilson was able to do when he was forced to enter the team’s Week 1 contest against the Bills in relief of Rodgers, and Hackett was also impressed by the progress Wilson made throughout the spring and summer. Wilson appears to have earned the trust of the locker room, with another team source telling Russini that Wilson’s character is “off the charts.” The team has changed “about half of the game plan” to play to Wilson’s strengths, including an overall simplification of the offense.

The organizational view on Wilson explains why, as Russini reports, the Jets have no plans to pursue a more accomplished signal-caller like Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, or Joe Flacco (Blake Bortles is reportedly not under consideration either). As Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report, Brady’s purchase of a stake in the Raiders is not yet finalized and is unlikely to be finalized until October at the earliest. Until then, Brady can techincally sign with any team he chooses, but as we noted previously, he continues to insist that he will remain retired.

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com suggests that the Jets, who have the league’s most difficult strength of schedule over the next five games, could reassess the situation over their Week 7 bye. If they are still in playoff position but feel Wilson is holding them back, they could expand their QB search at that time.

Rodgers, of course, has not closed the door on an in-season return. The reason for such optimism, as Rapoport and Pelissero explain in a separate piece, is that Rodgers underwent an innovative surgery to accelerate the rehabilitation process.

The NFL.com duo, building on an earlier report from Russini and The Athletic colleague Jourdan Rodrigue (subscription required), say that a type of internal brace called a “speed bridge” was placed on Rodgers’ torn Achilles. The procedure, which was performed by well-known orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, could allow Rodgers to be back on the field right around the time the postseason begins.

The procedure does involve risk, but Rodgers determined that the possibility of helping his new club make a playoff run this season was worth taking a chance. The 39-year-old (40 in December) could also receive platelet-rich plasma injections to move his recovery along.

Jets In Discussions With Free Agent QBs; Team To Start Zach Wilson

September 13th, 2023 at 11:37am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 13: The Jets are unlikely to add a quarterback this week, Cimini tweets. As they prepare to face a top-tier Cowboys defense, the Jets are gearing up to head into that game with a Wilson-Boyle depth chart. While Saleh said he would he “shocked” if Rodgers retired after this injury, Cimini adds, the eventual first-ballot Canton inductee is out of the picture until 2024. No surgery date has emerged yet.

SEPTEMBER 12: Aaron Rodgers‘ historically short cameo this season leaves the Jets back with Zach Wilson as their starting quarterback. Although the team aggressively chased veteran passers — in a search that produced Rodgers — this offseason to avoid Wilson returning as QB1, the future Hall of Famer’s Achilles tear leaves the much-hyped team scrambling.

While Wilson is back in place atop the Jets’ depth chart, team brass is meeting to discuss options at the position. The team has already begun to reach out to free agent signal-callers, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. As should be expected, representatives for a number of free agent options have contacted the Jets, Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager adds. The Jets are only planning for an outside addition to fill out the QB room, with Robert Saleh clarifying Wilson will be the starter.

“I want to make it very clear: Zach’s our quarterback,” Saleh said, via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. “We have a lot of faith in Zach. We’re rolling with Zach and excited for him. … Under no circumstances is any of this a competition. This is Zach’s team and we’re rolling with Zach.”

Former Rodgers Green Bay backup Tim Boyle is the only other QB with the Jets presently, and Saleh confirmed he will become the backup. The team let Mike White walk in free agency; the two-year Jets spot starter who eventually moved past Wilson on the depth chart is now Tua Tagovailoa‘s Dolphins backup. Joe Flacco was part of the Jets’ QB room for three seasons, including Saleh’s first two. The former Super Bowl MVP has expressed interest in continuing his career, and ESPN’s Rich Cimini notes the 15-year veteran is interested in coming back. Nothing has transpired on this front just yet, however, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.

Flacco, 38, would seemingly be an option, though the Mike LaFleur-to-Nathaniel Hackett switch may be a hurdle here. But GM Joe Douglas having brought in Flacco, whom he worked while a scout with in Baltimore, would count in the ex-Ravens cornerstone’s favor. Douglas was also with the Eagles when they traded up for Carson Wentz and during Nick Foles‘ second stint with the team.

Three teams have jettisoned Wentz over the past three offseasons; the former No. 2 overall pick has been working out preparing for another opportunity since his Commanders exit. The Colts cut Foles, 34, in May. Neither has been tied to a team since their respective releases. At this juncture, both would qualify as logical emergency options. Wentz would represent the better chance to replace Wilson, having been a starter throughout his career. Colt McCoy, whom the Cardinals recently released, is also unattached. McCoy came up as a potential Patriots option but has not signed with a team since his Arizona exit.

The team has inquired about Chad Henne, per Schultz. The four-year Chiefs backup retired after Super Bowl LVII, but he has worked in Hackett’s system before. Henne’s time with the Jaguars overlapped with Hackett’s. Hackett coached Henne from 2016-18, working as Jacksonville’s OC. Henne turned 38 shortly after his retirement announcement.

Colin Kaepernick‘s agent has reached out to the Jets as well, The Score’s Jordan Schultz tweets. While Saleh and Kaepernick technically overlapped with the 49ers, that brief period did not involve any game action. The 49ers were set to release the polarizing passer had he not opted out of his contract in March 2017; that sequence came less than a month after Kyle Shanahan hired Saleh. Despite having not played since the 2016 season, the exiled QB has continued to work out in hopes of resuming his career. Considering how long it has been since Kaepernick played in the NFL, he is not a realistic option at this point.

The 49ers were prepared to pull Philip Rivers out of a multiyear retirement in February, had they somehow upended the Eagles after Brock Purdy‘s injury and advanced to Super Bowl LVII. The former Chargers great is now 41. Matt Ryan did not close the door on returning, but the 2022 Colts starter is now at CBS and did not show good form last season.

Tom Brady collected his seventh Super Bowl ring by joining a team with a talented defense and young skill-position talents. Unlike Brady retirement No. 1, the all-time great is a free agent. The 46-year-old icon has said repeatedly this year he is done, and while this would be an intriguing opportunity for a quarterback who was open to playing an age-46 season late last year, SI.com’s Albert Breer views each of the longtime starters as unlikely options.

Rodgers’ injury development is eerily similar to the one that wrecked the Jets’ 1999 season. Following an AFC championship game berth, the Jets lost starter Vinny Testaverde to an Achilles tear in Week 1 of the ’99 campaign. The team used former No. 2 overall pick Rick Mirer, who had washed out with the Seahawks, as its starter soon after. Mirer had arrived via trade that August. The team eventually benched Mirer for mobile third-stringer Ray Lucas, who ended up starting nine games that year. The Jets finished 8-8 in Bill Parcells‘ third and final year at the helm; Testaverde returned to retake the reins in 2000.

Wilson struggled mightily last season and ended up being benched for White midway through. Issues in the locker room were rumored to have contributed to the benching. Although Wilson ended up moving back into the backup role to fill in for an injured White in Week 16, a woeful showing against the Jaguars cemented the Jets’ pursuit of veteran options this offseason. The team resisted on adding a veteran backup behind Rodgers, with the trade rumors surrounding Wilson ending up unfounded. The former No. 2 pick is awkwardly back in the Jets’ top spot, but it will be interesting to see if a starter-caliber veteran arrives and eventually pushes the underwhelming investment for playing time.

QB Joe Flacco Hopes To Play In 2023

September 8th, 2023 at 9:45am CST by Adam La Rose

For the first time in his career, Week 1 of an NFL season has kicked off without Joe Flacco being on a roster. The former Super Bowl MVP is not looking to hang up his cleats, however.

Flacco is unsigned after his three-year stint with the Jets came to an end this offseason. The 38-year-old made nine starts in New York over that span, including four in 2022 as the team dealt with injuries and underwhelming play under center. That led to the decision on New York’s part to move on from Flacco and Mike White, as well as the blockbuster acquisition of Aaron Rodgers this offseason.

As a result, Flacco remains on the open market after 15 years in the league, much of which came as a starter. The longtime Ravens No. 1 is well aware any new deal would see him handle backup duties at this point, though, and that it would check in at a much lower rate than the six-year, $120MM pact he landed after leading Baltimore to victory in Super Bowl XLVII. He remains confident he can step into a vacancy created by an injury or other factor midseason, though.

“Listen, I can still play,” Flacco said, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “I’m hoping that there’s the silver lining that I’m not anywhere right now and that I can be available to anybody… When people are really pressed to win some games, if they have to call on somebody, then they’d be more willing to get somebody like me who can hopefully come in and learn an offense pretty quickly and at least give you a fighting chance.”

The former first-rounder has 180 starts to his name, and he is among the few signal-callers left on the open market who have a long track record in the NFL. Passers such as Carson Wentz and Nick Foles are also unsigned, so they too will watch how the early parts of the season unfolds before weighing any offers which come their way. Flacco admitted that he did not generate much of a market for his services during this offseason, and his nearly $175MM in career earnings certainly do not require him to continue his playing career. For at least the time being, though, that does remain his intention.

“I still believe that I have all of the athletic and physical tools to do it,” he added. “In terms of the quarterback and the mental part of it, I’ve only gotten better over the last 15 years… I mean, not to say that I’m not 27, 28 years old anymore. But I’m in great shape and I don’t see a real drop-off.”

Latest On Aaron Rodgers, Jets QB Depth

May 16th, 2023 at 9:21pm CST by Ben Levine

As the Jets continue to work on a new deal with Aaron Rodgers, the team is also considering other moves at the position. GM Joe Douglas told reporters that the organization could consider bringing back veteran Joe Flacco next season.

“We’re always going to keep the door open when any good player is available,” Douglas said (via ESPN’s Rich Cimini on Twitter).

Flacco completed his third season with the Jets in 2022 (minus a brief stint with the Eagles). He actually got his most run this past year, completing 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in five games (four starts). The veteran ended up starting nine games across three seasons with the organization, guiding the team to an 1-8 record while in the starting lineup.

The former Super Bowl MVP was initially signed to be the backup to Sam Darnold, and he was reacquired to play behind Zach Wilson. If Flacco were to re-sign with New York, he’d now be competing with Wilson for that QB2 spot behind Rodgers. The Jets are also rostering Tim Boyle and Chris Streveler at the position.

Meanwhile, the Jets continue to work with Rodgers on resolving his cap situation for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, the Jets were surprised to learn that the QB had previously pushed the entirety of his fully-guaranteed $58.3MM option bonus to the 2024 season. As a result, Rodgers is eyeing a minimum salary commitment for 2023 and a untenable $107.55MM worth of compensation for 2024.

“We knew at the end of the trade that Aaron and Green Bay needed to work some things out,” Douglas told Florio. “We didn’t know the exact ramifications. It was just important to us that the cap number wasn’t going to go higher than it was at the time that we agreed to it. We didn’t know that it was actually going to go down to the minimum, so when they re-did the deal, you know, we saw the new number, knew that we saw that it was low for this year. We’re still working on restructuring aspects of the deal as we speak, but we feel like we’re in a really good place.”

There have been some questions about how long Rodgers intends to keep playing, with some wondering if his stint in New York may only last one season. As Florio notes, if Rodgers hopes to sniff a large chunk of that $107.5MM, he’ll likely have to commit to a new two-year pact with the Jets, locking him in through the 2024 campaign.

Jets To Start QB Joe Flacco In Week 18; Mike White Has Five Broken Ribs

January 6th, 2023 at 4:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

4:15pm: Make that five broken ribs for White, who confirmed the total Friday (via NJ.com’s Andy Vasquez). Two-plus months from free agency, White said the injuries are not expected to be an issue for too long into the offseason.

10:24am: The Jets cleared Mike White for a Week 17 start in what became a do-or-die game. White struggled in a one-sided loss to the Seahawks, but his rib trouble became an issue early in that outing.

A hit near the end of the first half in the Jets’ 23-6 loss in Seattle provided a setback for White, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports the veteran backup-turned-starter is dealing with four broken ribs (Twitter link). White had attempted to play through this issue this week, but Robert Saleh said an end-of-half blow became a major issue (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, on Twitter) henceforth. Set to close out his age-37 season, Joe Flacco will receive the call against the Dolphins.

White’s injury deteriorated throughout this week, Rapoport adds, nixing plans to start. The popular QB’s season will end early because of the injury that blunted his momentum. The Jets’ Week 17 loss eliminated them from playoff contention, providing little reason for them to trot out their preferred starter again. Barring a new contract, White is ticketed for free agency in March.

The Jets are not deviating from their latest plan to give Zach Wilson a reset. Wilson will again be inactive, with Saleh adding (via Cimini) the team is focusing on Wilson’s development for the 2023 season at this point. The former No. 2 overall pick has been twice removed from his starting role this season. After having been bumped to the backup gig following demotion No. 1, the erratic BYU product was inactive for Week 17. Wilson’s future with the Jets is up in the air, though the team continues to publicly convey long-term support. Wilson is signed through the 2024 season.

White’s clearance for Week 17 injected some hope into the Jets’ building after Wilson’s meltdown against the Jaguars, but the injury he suffered against the Bills weeks ago ended up being too much to overcome. He strung together back-to-back solid performances against the Bears and Vikings, but he will exit his contract year in need of more recovery time.

Flacco, who started over White in place of an injured Wilson during the season’s first three weeks, is also playing on an expiring contract. The Jets will end the season with Flacco and White each having started four games, with Wilson getting the call in the other nine. It can be safely assumed Saleh’s team, which improved significantly on defense this season, will be on the hunt for a veteran starter option this coming offseason.

Jets QB Mike White Cleared To Return; Zach Wilson To Be Inactive

December 26th, 2022 at 11:31am CST by Adam La Rose

The Jets’ playoff hopes have received a significant boost today. Quarterback Mike White has been medically cleared to return to game action in time for Week 17, and he will resume his role as the team’s starting quarterback (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post).

The news comes after White missed the past two games with multiple fractured ribs. He exited the Jets’ loss to the Bills on more than one occasion after taking significant hits, and was clearly playing through pain by the end of the contest. He underwent testing from numerous doctors in his push to return as quickly as possible, but ultimately missed the past two games while recovering.

That opened the door to Zach Wilson taking over the No. 1 role once again, after he had been benched in favor of White earlier in the year. The 2021 second overall pick delivered a better performance than most of his others during his brief NFL tenure in a 20-17 loss to the Lions in Week 15. However, he followed that up with a showing last Thursday which included 92 passing yards and an interception. Wilson was replaced by Chris Streveler midway through New York’s hugely underwhelming loss to Jacksonville, a result which put their playoff chances in significant jeopardy.

More importantly, it marked another missed opportunity for Wilson to establish himself as the franchise signal-caller he was drafted to become. That has led to recent reporting that the Jets could be looking to part ways with the BYU product this offseason, despite two years (with the potential of three, due to the fifth-year option) remaining on his rookie contract. Such a move would constitute an abject failure for all parties involved, given the draft capital New York invested in Wilson to provide them with long-term stability at the position.

As White earns his job back, Wilson will again drop to the No. 3 spot on the Jets’ depth chart. Same as it was in the weeks immediately following Wilson’s demotion, the second-year passer is set to be inactive going forward. Joe Flacco will back up White, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones tweets. Barring injury, White is the starter for the rest of the season, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. Since his return from an August PCL injury, Wilson has gone from starter to third-stringer to second-stringer, back to starter and now back to the third-string depth chart slot.

Despite Wilson’s rough ride as Gang Green’s starter in his second season, Robert Saleh still places faith in his long-term value. The Jets are shutting him down again, and although Sunday’s report indicated this could be it for the ex-BYU starter in the Big Apple, Saleh is again attempting to soften the landing here.

“The plan for Zach hasn’t changed. I still think he has a future here,” Saleh said, via Cimini. “I still think he’s going to be a really good quarterback. He needs time to just kind of sit back and continue the development that we were trying re-kick start, if you will, after the New England game. We still have him in our future and in our plans.”

White flashed potential while filling in for an injured Wilson last season, and has likewise done enough in his three starts in 2022 to earn head coach Saleh’s trust in the final weeks of the season. The former Cowboys fifth-rounder has averaged just over 317 passing yards per game, though that figure has only resulted in three touchdown passes against a pair of interceptions. Still, the offense’s overall productivity with him under center makes the decision to go back to him as soon as possible an unsurprising one.

White is a pending free agent, something which, along with the uncertainty surrounding Wilson’s future in the Big Apple, leaves the quarterback position one filled with plenty of intrigue heading into 2023. In the immediate future, though, White will look to end the four-game losing streak which has the Jets currently sitting at 7-8. A Wild Card spot is still possible if he can regain the form he showed prior to the injury.

Jets To Bench QB Zach Wilson For Week 12

November 23rd, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Sam Robinson

10:41am: White will receive the call against Chicago, Saleh said. The former Cowboys fifth-round pick made three starts for an injured Wilson last season. White, 27, completed 66.7% of his passes last season and threw five touchdown passes against eight interceptions. Flacco will be White’s backup, per Saleh, who said (via the New York Post’s Brian Costello, on Twitter) Wilson will be inactive.

White created tremendous buzz with his 400-yard game against the eventual AFC champion Bengals, but after suffering an injury in the Jets’ ensuing game, he crashed back to earth via a four-INT dud against the Bills. By benching a formerly coveted prospect for White, the Jets are placing a great deal of faith in a player who has not taken a 2022 snap.

10:03am: Robert Saleh opened the door to a Zach Wilson benching Monday, and the Jets are following through with the move. During a Wednesday team meeting, players learned the second-year quarterback will be benched for Week 12, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

Considering the investment the Jets made in Wilson, it is obviously a major development they are sitting him due to performance issues so early in his tenure. The team bailed on a No. 3 overall pick (Sam Darnold) after three seasons to take Wilson second overall. But Wilson has floundered since returning from a preseason knee injury, putting Saleh in a bind.

At 6-4, the Jets have a chance to secure their first playoff berth since 2011. That currently represents the NFL’s longest postseason drought — by a considerable margin. The team has greatly improved on defense, vaulting from 32nd in Saleh’s first year to being a top-10 unit in both total defense and points allowed. Wilson has done well to restrict that defense, struggling to justify that No. 2 overall investment.

Wilson, who rocketed onto the first-round radar after a breakthrough 2020 season at BYU, has completed less than 56% of his passes this season and has thrown just four touchdown passes in seven 2022 starts. Wilson’s 55.6% completion rate matches his 13-start rookie figure, inviting concern — especially with the Jets making more investments at receiver this offseason. The Jets are coming off one of the worst offensive performances in franchise history. Their 103 total yards is the fourth-lowest number in franchise annals. Their Wilson-directed Week 18 showing last season (53) ranks as the worst.

Wilson’s comments after his 9-for-22, 77-yard outing in Foxborough also became an issue. The young passer indicating he did not feel he let his defense down rankled some defensive players. Saleh keeping Wilson as the starter may have created a locker room problem. Addressing the situation, Saleh said (via SNY’s Connor Hughes, on Twitter) “maybe there’s a little irritation at the moment, but I don’t think there’s hate.” Still, this could be a significant turning point for the Jets, who have invested tremendous draft capital at the quarterback position in recent years. Wilson remaining on the bench the rest of the way certainly calls his long-term status into question.

The Jets recently demoted Week 1 starter Joe Flacco to their third-string post, moving Mike White — their initial Wilson replacement last year — to the backup job. White emerged as a Wilson threat last year, after becoming the first Jet to surpass 400 passing yards since Vinny Testaverde in an upset win over the Bengals. That talk died down after White struggled to replicate that form, however. When asked who would take over for Wilson if he did not receive the call against the Bears, Saleh did not say whether it would be White or Flacco. Despite starting just three games, Flacco still leads the Jets with five touchdown passes this season. Whoever does receive the call will be tasked with keeping the Jets in the playoff mix.

The Jets could conceivably circle back to Wilson, justifying this as a temporary shutdown to allow for further development. In explaining his decision to bench Wilson, Saleh said the former mid-major prospect’s Jets career is “not over.” Saleh said the intent is for Wilson to play again this season.

While undoubtedly a blow to the team’s big-picture plan, Wilson also is not showing improvement during second season as a full-time starter. The Jets zeroed in on Wilson in 2021, moving the draft’s suspense to the 49ers’ No. 3 spot. After the Jaguars went with locked-in No. 1 prospect Trevor Lawrence, the Jets went with Wilson, doing so despite the latter’s 2020 rise aided by a COVID-19-altered BYU schedule that featured lesser opposition. The Jets will face one of the QBs they bypassed — Justin Fields — on Sunday.

Jets Not Committing To Zach Wilson As Week 12 Starter

November 21st, 2022 at 4:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

4:15pm: Given another chance to address this matter, Saleh is not committing to Wilson. The second-year Jets HC said (via the New York Post’s Brian Costello, on Twitter) the team is “keeping everything on the table” regarding their quarterback. Following a rough Wilson outing against the Patriots three weeks ago, Saleh said the plan was for the former No. 2 overall pick to start the rest of the season. With the Jets still contending for a playoff spot despite poor quarterback play, the team’s decision will obviously be one to monitor ahead of the team’s Week 12 game against the Bears.

While Wilson has been informed his job is not locked in any longer, Saleh did not indicate if either White or Joe Flacco would start if Wilson ended up being benched, Connor Hughes of SNY tweets. The Jets demoted Flacco, who remains their touchdown pass leader (with five) despite starting only three games this season, for White during Wilson’s latest run as their starter.

8:58am: During Sunday’s 10-3 loss to the Patriots, the Jets delivered one of their worst offensive performances in franchise history, once again leading to questions about their plans at the quarterback position moving forward. For at least one more week, though, no changes will be coming.

Zach Wilson completed just nine passes for 77 yards in the game, one in which the Jets mustered two yards of offense in the second half. As head coach Robert Saleh confirmed after the game, however, he did not consider benching the 23-year-old at any point during the contest. Moving on to backup Mike White under center is “the furthest thing from my mind,” Saleh added, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic (subscription required).

Sunday marked the fourth time in 2022 that Wilson completed fewer than 60% of his passes and threw for less than 160 yards. Taking into account the three games he missed at the start of the season due to a knee injury, that represents an alarming lack of development for the second-year passer. Wilson’s three-interception performance in Week 8 against the Patriots raised questions about Wilson’s grip on the starting role, but Saleh backed the former No. 2 overall pick then as he is doing now. Support from within the team’s locker room appears to dwindling, though.

Rookie wideout Garrett Wilson was among the most vocal players to voice their frustrations in the immediate aftermath of the loss. He stopped short of naming any one player or coach individually, but said that the staff “ha[s] to put more trust in the receiver room” to improve offensively.

“It starts in practice,” he added, via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “It’s got to be better, the things we see and don’t call out. It has to start getting called out. This is unacceptable. No one wants to feel like this, but that’s not enough… Hopefully, this is a wake-up for some people in the facility… to get on their details.”

Zach Wilson added further to the frustration with his performance when speaking after the game. He laid a much smaller portion of the blame on himself than expected, adding that he did not feel he and the offense let the rest of the team down. Per Cimini, there remain some “raw feelings” amongst New York’s defensive players, and Wilson’s lack of contrition “didn’t sit well” (Twitter link).

At 6-4, the Jets are now at the bottom of the AFC East. Their playoff hopes are still very much alive given the parity in their division and most of the AFC, but the QB position will remain under intense scrutiny in the coming days and weeks barring significant improvement.

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