It looks like New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is again bringing his credibility into question with the majority of his players due to his unabashed support of first-round bust and quarterback Zach Wilson.
There was so much hope and excitement heading into the 2023 season for the New York Jets. They had talented skills players on offense, one of the better defenses in the league, and finally an elite-level QB leading the team in future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers.
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However, all those aspirations were dispelled when the four-time MVP suffered a torn Achilles just four plays into his first Jets regular season. Replacing him for the foreseeable future is 2021 first-round pick Zach Wilson. A signal-caller who was given two seasons to prove he could be the team’s new franchise quarterback but only regressed in his second year.
That is enough to cause frustration for some New York players, but Wilson even being on the team in 2023 was a bit surprising for some due to how sharply teammate opinions changed in 2022 after he played poorly and showed little accountability for his influence on a disappointing season. Yet, due to his friendship with Rodgers, the 24-year-old was retained with the hope that the greybeard could take him under his wing and guide him to his potential.
Unfortunately, after three games back under center Wilson’s play in 2023 has been average at best. This is not surprising for fans who have watched his Jets career. Yet what has made the situation all the more frustrating is the organization has chosen not to bring in a proven veteran QB as a backup and head coach Robert Saleh has publicly campaigned to be supportive of the young QB.
New York Jets defense again growing frustrated with Zach Wilson as quarterback
In Week 3, as the offense continued to sputter in a winnable game against the New England Patriots, the coach decided to stick with Wilson and it delivered a second straight loss for the team. These various decisions seemingly have the locker room on the verge of an uprising for a second straight season.
- Zach Wilson stats (2023): 52.4 Completion %, 467 passing yards, 2 TD, 4 INT, 57.0 rating
On a new edition of the “Flight Deck” podcast this week, host and New York Jets insider Rich Cimini offered up some new details of a growing “tension” in the locker room over Saleh’s decision to stick with Wilson through thick and thin.
“He’s watching what we’re watching,” said Cimini. “He’s watched it for two-and-a-half years. [Saleh] definitely has doubts. He knows what Wilson is. But the thing is, he’s coming off as a Zach apologist. And that doesn’t play well in the locker room. The defense, in particular, is not happy. This defense knows that if any other player was performing his job the way Wilson is performing his, that player would be benched. Trust me, there’s tension in that locker room.”
There was a bit of a locker room divide in 2022 as many players were openly supportive of an injury-related switch to Mike White as the team’s QB, and they seemed to be proven right when the team was more competitive with the backup under center.
All those issues were likely put in the rearview with the hope the team would compete for a Super Bowl title with Rodgers leading the offense. Now, all those problems from last season have returned since Wilson has not gotten any better as a signal caller in 2023.