It’s official: Joe Flacco will be the Jets‘ starting quarterback Week 1 against the Ravens, per head coach Robert Saleh. And, unfortunately, for a few games after that…
Primary starter Zach Wilson suffered a bone bruise and meniscus tear in the team’s preseason opener against the Eagles last month. While it was always unclear whether Wilson was to be ready for the matchup with Baltimore, Saleh shed some light on the situation earlier this week, saying that if Wilson was cleared to play on Wednesday, he would be under center Sunday.
Now, Wilson won’t be ready until at least Week 4, when the team takes on the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Saleh revealed this to the media during a Wednesday press conference. Wilson will not head to injured reserve though, a placement that would sideline him for at least the first four games of the year. This means the second-year quarterback will still be able to practice with the team.
Wilson hasn’t had any setbacks, but Saleh wants to ensure his quarterback is in tip-top shape before sending him out for what should be a crucial season.
Here we go again. No, this doesn’t mean the Jets should punt on the season. But fans are impatient and the news of Wilson’s upcoming three-week absence won’t relieve any tension.
The team is hoping this is the year Wilson takes that leap and proves he can be the organization’s first franchise quarterback since Joe Namath. Poor decision-making and a knee injury set Wilson back during his 2021 rookie campaign and it would be a disaster if 2022 is a repeat of that lackluster season.
In a perfect world, Wilson returns Week 4 and exponentially grows with the offense and its various weapons (Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, C.J. Uzomah, Breece Hall, et cetera). We just don’t have much proof that will be the case.
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