SEPTEMBER 25: Wilson is expected to be cleared by doctors next week, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). Assuming that happens, Wilson will be in line to start the Jets’ Week 4 contest against the Steelers.

Per Rapoport, Wilson has experienced no setbacks in his recovery and has continued to make good progress.

SEPTEMBER 22: The highwater marks of the past two Jets seasons have come with their high-end quarterback prospect sidelined. Nearly a year after Mike White‘s 400-yard game keyed an upset over the Bengals, Joe Flacco led the NFL’s first 13-point comeback inside of two minutes in 21 years.

But the development of Zach Wilson remains the team’s objective. While Flacco will start in Week 3, Robert Saleh said the Jets will not hesitate to go back to their second-year starter once he is ready ready to return. Wilson remains out due to the August knee surgery he underwent.

“Zach’s the future of the organization. We all know that,” Saleh said, via the New York Post’s Brian Costello. “As soon as the doctors clear him, we’ll get him on the field.”

Flacco’s throwback performance in Cleveland (307 yards, four touchdown passes) could prompt calls for the Jets to keep their 37-year-old backup in the mix. This would remind of the brief Jets QB quandary that came about last season after White’s work against the Bengals. White’s four-interception game against the Bills two weeks later quieted the campaigns for him to keep the gig. After one Flacco start, Wilson was back under center for the final games of the season.

Saleh said before the season Wilson would miss at least the team’s first three games. The former No. 2 overall pick returning in Week 4 is not yet a certainty. Wilson will ramp up his activity this week, but Saleh did not guarantee next week will be the BYU product’s return window. That still looks to remain a realistic target, at least, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Week 3 will mark Wilson’s seventh missed game as a pro.

Their Cleveland comeback notwithstanding, the Jets remain a rebuilding team. They added a few pieces on offense to further assist Wilson — from guard Laken Tomlinson to No. 10 overall pick Garrett Wilson — but his injuries and rookie-year struggles have injected some doubt into the team’s quarterback plan. It remains relatively early, however, as Zach Wilson has not yet taken a regular-season snap with Gang Green’s improved offense. A fair amount of pressure could await the young quarterback upon returning, however. It will be interesting to see how long of a leash Saleh provides if Wilson (30th in 2021 QBR) is ineffective when he comes back.

The NFL continues to see quarterback rematches lining its Week 1 schedule. Joe Flacco will now join Russell Wilson and Baker Mayfield in going against a former employer this week.

Flacco will start in place of Zach Wilson in Sunday’s Jets-Ravens tilt, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Although the Jets left the door open to Wilson beginning the season on time, Flacco was viewed as their most likely season-opening starter. The matchup will come against the team with which Flacco spent 11 seasons to start his career.

It will be an extended run for Flacco under center. Robert Saleh said Wednesday the Jets will not have Wilson until at least Week 4. This will bring a second straight season with a prolonged Wilson absence. He missed four games as a rookie. The Jets face the Browns and Bengals in Weeks 2 and 3. Completing their rare all-AFC North start to the season, the Jets face the Steelers in Week 4.

Wilson, who suffered a PCL injury in the Jets’ preseason opener, underwent arthroscopic surgery three weeks ago. Wilson also sustained a knee contusion. Knee trouble was the cause of Wilson’s 2021 hiatus as well. It makes sense for the Jets not to rush the former No. 2 overall pick back and, for this week at least, Flacco starting in the high-end prospect’s place adds intrigue.

Flacco has been gone from Baltimore since 2019, when the Ravens traded him to the Broncos for a fourth-round pick. But he has yet to face his former squad. The Jets, who had initially acquired Flacco in 2020, landed him again — via trade from the Eagles, for a sixth-round choice — in 2021. Flacco re-signed with the Jets, for one year and $3.5MM, in March.

The Jets could save a roster spot by placing Wilson on IR, but that would knock him out for four games. With Wilson’s development being front and center to the Jets’ 2022 cause, the team keeping him on its 53-man roster in hopes of only a three-game absence is logical. Keeping Wilson active will enable him to continue practicing. While the starter continues his recovery, Mike White will be positioned as Flacco’s backup.

Still, this is a tough development for a Jets team eager to see what it has in Wilson. The team has used some high-level resources to build an offense around him. This year alone, the team drafted Garrett Wilson 10th overall and gave Laken Tomlinson a lucrative deal in free agency. The Jets are already without 2020 first-rounder Mekhi Becton for the season. Wilson’s second notable NFL injury adds another bad break for the rebuilding team.

After suffering a torn meniscus and a bone bruise in the Jets’ preseason opener, Zach Wilson underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Tuesday. The second-year quarterback has resumed walking, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, who notes no additional knee damage was found during the operation.

But a Week 1 return may still be a bridge too far. Joe Flacco will likely be the Jets’ season-opening starter, Cimini adds. The Jets were cautious with Wilson last year, after he suffered a PCL injury. The former No. 2 overall pick returned to practice for three weeks before the team gave him the green light to play. Unsurprisingly, the Jets again plan to be cautious with their latest top-five quarterback draftee.

“We’re going to do right by him in terms of making sure he’s 100% healthy,” Robert Saleh said. “We’re going to take it by how Zach looks, how he feels, how he moves, what the doctors tell us. Whenever that moment is, he’ll step on the field.”

Wilson was initially given a two- to four-week return timetable. Just more than three weeks remain until Week 1. Wilson has seen injuries hijack developmental time early in his career, having missed four rookie-year games. His missing time to start this season would begin to remind of Sam Darnold‘s years with the Jets. Injuries and a mononucleosis bout, respectively, kept Darnold off the field for at least three games in each of his three Jets campaigns.

The Jets re-signed Flacco, 37, on a one-year, $3.5MM deal ($2.85MM guaranteed) this offseason. He has made five starts for the Jets in two seasons. The team is winless with the former Super Bowl MVP at the controls. While Mike White led the Jets to a surprise win over the Bengals last season, Saleh confirmed Flacco is Wilson’s top backup. The Jets’ September slate features games against the Ravens, Browns and Bengals.