The New York Jets still roster former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson even after acquiring future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers earlier in the offseason.
New York is seemingly prepared for Wilson to be Rodgers’ primary backup heading into his third season in the NFL.
This wasn’t always guaranteed to be the case. Wilson’s immaturity over the first two seasons of his tenure with the Jets led to speculation that the locker room dynamics wouldn’t work with him and Rodgers sharing the same quarterback room.
As the Jets continue with their off-season program, this doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue. In particular, Wilson has displayed a positive attitude. Per the former BYU standout, there’s one primary reason for this. “I can’t be bitter. I didn’t perform well,” Wilson told reporters on Friday.
Talk about being blunt. At the very least, the young quarterback can look in the mirror and criticize himself. Anyone who has seen Wilson play through two seasons can agree with this sentiment.
- Zach Wilson stats (2021-22): 55.2% completion, 4,022 yards, 15 TD, 18 INT, 70.9 QB rating
These numbers compare similarly to one of the biggest first-round busts at quarterback in NFL history, JaMarcus Russell. That’s not a name Wilson wants to be mentioned with.
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New York Jets could very well end up relying on Zach Wilson
Outside of missing seven games in 2013 and another nine games in 2017, Aaron Rodgers has remained pretty healthy throughout his future Hall of Fame career. With that said, he’s entering his Age-40 season. There is no telling how Rodgers’ body is going to hold up moving forward.
Right now, Wilson is locked in as the Jets’ No. 2 quarterback. Given that they boast Super Bowl expectations in 2023, it could be an important role. That is to say, holding down the fort for the short-term during the regular season should Rodgers go down at any point.
For Wilson, he has absolutely no issue working behind someone of Rodgers’ ilk. In fact, it seems to be the best-case scenario for the young quarterback.
“Of course, I would like to be the guy,” Wilson said. “At first, you’re not always happy about that. But I’m extremely psyched that out of any quarterback we could’ve brought in, it was him.”
That’s a great attitude for the youngster to have following two seasons of struggles and drama.