Second-year New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson worked out on Monday for the first time since he underwent knee surgery back on Aug. 16 after suffering an injury in the team’s preseason opener.
Dealing with a torn meniscus in his right knee, it always seemed to be a long shot that Wilson would be able to go against the Baltimore Ravens come Week 1 on Sunday. Now, we’re not so sure.
“We put Zach through a workout today and he looked good and felt good. We’re going to see how the knee responds today and tomorrow, and we’ll have an answer for everybody on Wednesday,” New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh on Zach Wilson’s Week 1 status, via the team’s official website.
If Wilson is unable to go Sunday, Joe Flacco will get the start against his former Ravens team. It wouldn’t be an ideal scenario given how Flacco closed out the preseason. But for the Jets, it’s all about making sure Wilson is 100% healthy and doesn’t suffer a setback early in the season.
“Everyone heals differently, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. “We’re putting him through some workouts, running, all that stuff. He did do some throwing, but I can’t give you a rep count.”
Saleh told reporters on Monday
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Zach Wilson entering important sophomore season with the New York Jets
Reports from Jets camp this summer were split before Wilson suffered the aforementioned knee injury in the preseason opener. Those on hand in Florham Park noted that the former No. 2 pick BYU struggled with accuracy.
Despite this, Wilson has the support of his teammates, most of whom believe he was headed for a breakout second season before suffering the injury. First-year Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah even went as far as to say that he expected a Joe Burrow-like leap from Wilson as a sophomore. That might simply be the veteran attempting to lift Wilson up, because, he struggled big time as a rookie.
- Zach Wilson stats (2021): 56% completion, 2,334 yards, 9 TD, 11 INT, 69.7 QB rating
New York did add a potential top receiving threat in that of Garrett Wilson with the 10th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He joins a stud youngster in Elijah Moore in providing Wilson with key targets in 2022.
From a broader perspective, Wilson’s performance will play a large role in Saleh’s future with the Jets. They posted a 4-13 record in his first season, scoring the fifth-fewest points in the NFL while giving up the most points. For his part, Saleh is excited about the start of the 2022 season.
Related: New York Jets schedule and game-by-game predictions
“After a three-day weekend, for myself, it’s always been about injuries on Mondays. We just had more of a workout, guys in kind of a walk-through. It’s a weird feeling on Mondays. The guys get really, really excited watching tape, asking the right questions. As we get closer [to Sunday], especially on Wednesday, that is when the building really electrifies.”
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh on preparing for the season opener
After opening the season against Baltimore, these Jets will take on the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins to get things going. There’s an opportunity for a surprising start to the campaign. However, a lot of that will depend on the availability of Zach Wilson early on.
At the very least, news that Wilson took part in a workout on Monday has to be seen as a positive. We’ll learn officially on Wednesday whether he’s going to be good enough to go against Baltimore.