Jets avoid disaster with Zach Wilson injury

When Jets quarterback Zach Wilson went down with a knee injury in Friday night’s preseason opener against Philly, everyone held their breath. It was a non-contact injury, too. A potential ACL tear and long-term recovery could’ve been en route.

The concern continued all throughout the night until Saturday morning, when the organization could finally exhale upon learning some promising news.

Brian Costello of the New York Post reports Wilson has a bone bruise and meniscus tear. He’s only expected to miss 2-4 weeks — a season-ending bullet has been dodged. ESPN’s Adam Schefter additionally reports Wilson will undergo arthroscopic surgery.

Wilson suffered the injury when he scrambled to the right on a first-quarter play, cut back inside, and took a dive forward (it looked as if his knee buckled). His subsequent limp progressively worsened by the second until he went down to the ground and eventually exited the game. Wilson, however, did walk under his own power to the locker room.

Given the 2-to-4-week recovery, there’s a chance Wilson is healthy for the team’s regular-season opener against the Ravens on Sunday, Sept. 11. Regardless, don’t expect to see Wilson take the field the rest of the preseason, even if the rehab process is smoother than anticipated.

In the meantime, veteran reserve quarterback Joe Flacco should earn the first-team reps in both practice and the remaining two exhibition games, with Mike White serving as the top backup. Head coach Robert Saleh has a ton of faith in the 37-year-old Flacco and believes the Super Bowl 47 MVP could still make an impact.

“He could start in this league. I believe that” Saleh said earlier this month. “Sometimes this league has a tendency to pigeonhole people or put labels on people, and then their opportunities kind of get limited. But Joe Flacco is a starting quarterback in this league. He’s really, really talented.”

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