Jets rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson, along with the other receivers in Florham Park, must work alongside a new QB1 for the time being. Zach Wilson suffered a bone bruise and torn meniscus in last Friday’s preseason opener. He’s undergoing surgery Tuesday and is initially expected to miss 2-4 weeks, putting into question his Week 1 status.
This means veteran Joe Flacco, who returned to the Jets on a one-year deal in the offseason, will be taking the first-team reps until further notice.
Is there a difference for the first-year wideout between playing with Zach Wilson and his temporary replacement?
“There’s definitely a difference,” the No. 10 overall pick told reporters Tuesday. “There’s a lot of experience right there with Flacco…he takes some pace off and puts pace on the ball, he kind of does a good job of making the passes receiver-friendly. That’s the best way I can put it into words. They’re pretty easy to catch. He takes some off the ball when you’re running a slant route versus an out route when he puts some zip on it because there has to be. Things like that.”
You can look at this one of two ways — let’s first take the optimistic path.
At least Garrett Wilson has faith in Flacco, who could very well be his quarterback Week 1 against the Ravens. Having Flacco on the roster births a much better backup quarterback situation than what other NFL teams have heading into the regular season. If Zach Wilson can return Week 2 or 3 and the Jets can steal a win with Flacco in the interim, it would be a great start to the year for a success-hungry organization.
Or, you can be pessimistic, which most New York sports fans have a tendency to be.
You can see this as one of the team’s top receivers claiming to be more comfortable playing with the backup quarterback as opposed to the starter. Like it’s a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who prefers a specific catcher on the roster.
It’s not a healthy perspective, no. Especially when you consider this receiver is one of the weapons general manager Joe Douglas drafted to help his prized possession of a quarterback develop.
Listen to ESNY’s Wide Right Podcast on Apple here or on Spotify here.
