During his post-training press conference Wednesday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh received a question about rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.
One.
With two and a half weeks to go before the start of the season against the Panthers, the Jets have a lot of question marks, but who will be the starting quarterback is not one of them, and they deserve some congratulations on how they handled Wilson.
The Jets cautiously chose to pave the way for Wilson after ranking him as No. 2 overall. They didn’t sign a veteran quarterback to compete with him. There was no claim to competition with someone already on the list. It has allowed Wilson to get all the first team representatives since he showed up on the training camp and has resulted in a mild summer for the 22-year-old and the team in general.
His Saleh counterparts in Chicago, San Francisco, and even New England face inquisitions of varying degrees with respect to their initial quarterbacks. It may seem unimportant, but the controversies of the quarterbacks are not just kept at press conferences. They bleed in staff meetings, staff discussions and in locker rooms.
“What’s been good is that we don’t have to deal with the locker room and, ‘Okay, I like this guy,’ you know what I’m saying? That’s been good,” Saleh told The Post after Wednesday’s press conference. “Obviously, it’s our job as a coaching staff to do everything we can to put him in the best position. It’s no different than if there was a veteran in his place.”
In 2018, the Jets drafted Sam Darnold and instead of just giving him the job, they created a competition between him, Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater, even though everyone knew that Darnold had a 99% chance of winning the work. The veterans of that team, however, were upset when Darnold was named starter because they felt Bridgewater was the best quarterback on the field. It would be an exaggeration to say that they divided the locker room, but there were certainly players who questioned whether the organization prioritized Darnold’s development over winning.
Saleh has had no such issues this year.
Wilson, in every way, has thrived with the initial offense and has become more and more comfortable as he has progressed to camp and in his first two preseason games.
“To Zach’s credit, the way he’s attacked his job and the way he’s approached it has been phenomenal,” Saleh said. “I talked about his process. A veteran will not help with your process. It is already light years ahead of everyone as it prepares for Monday to day. ”
It’s fair to question whether the Jets made a mistake in not adding a veteran to Wilson’s backup in case he was injured, but it was the right call that didn’t lead him to “compete” on the field. training.
What is happening in Chicago is the point home. The fan base wants rookie Justin Fields to play after seeing him make outstanding plays in the preseason. Bears coach Matt Nagy has said he stays with veteran Andy Dalton. The Bears signed Dalton this offseason and surely promised him he would start before they drafted Fields.
The Jets discussed adding a veteran quarterback, but frankly, they didn’t like the options there were. The highest level of veterans available wanted to go anywhere to compete for the starting job, something the Jets would not offer. The next level of available veterans are retreaded which will prevent you from being embarrassed, but you are unlikely to win any matches.
“The last thing you want to do is force something just to force something,” Saleh said. “Whether it helped him or not, we’ll find out soon enough.”
You could argue that Wilson would have benefited from the competition at camp, but remember that he would also have reduced his reps with the initial offense, which is more valuable. Wilson doesn’t act right either, though he knows he would start in the spring.
“I can’t have the mindset of‘ I’m the guy, so I can be complacent, ’” Wilson said. “I have to keep competing. I have to earn my job, no matter who is there.
“You have to understand if you don’t do it right, they will replace you.”
Wilson has no reason to look over his shoulder right now, and that’s good.