Mike Francesa believes Zach Wilson has reached a fork in the road.
The WFAN legend opined on the embattled Jets quarterback to start his latest BetRivers podcast:
It all comes back to the quarterback position. The quarterback has not handled things well. He has not handled criticism well. His comments after the game — which are always going to be highly scrutinized — were not wonderful.
Bottom line is … there comes a point, with very few exceptions, in every quarterback’s career where everybody is doubting them. The coaches are doubting them. The players are doubting them. The fans are doubting them. The media is doubting him. Maybe even his own family is doubting him. At that point is where the quarterback has to stand up and prove he is up to the challenge, prove he belongs. Otherwise he will wind up being somewhere else or he will wind up on the bench. I think Wilson has reached that stage right now.
What has happened is this team has gotten there quicker than they had figured. And now they can’t allow the quarterback to hold them back. It’s not fair to the other players. … You can get a divided room with that kind of thing.
Francesa’s comments come after Wilson’s disastrous performance — both on the field and in the press room — in the Jets’ 10-3 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. Jets coach Robert Saleh declined to commit to Wilson as the team’s starter moving forward Monday, a clear about-face for the organization with its No. 2 pick.
Francesa also tweeted a similar Wilson take prior to the podcast: “When everybody inside the building and everybody outside the building wonders if they have a QB. That, is when you step up and prove you belong….or you go to the bench. Zach Wilson is at that point!”
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
