Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, will not start Sunday’s game for the Jets against the Bears, coach Robert Saleh said on Wednesday. The move was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and a source later confirmed the move to Sports Illustrated.
During a Wednesday team meeting, Jets players were informed that Wilson will not be under center to begin the team’s home game against Chicago, Schefter reports. Wilson is 5–2 as the Jets’ starter this year, but the team has been carried by its defense as Wilson has struggled individually.
Wilson’s struggles came to a head in Week 11’s 10–3 loss to the Patriots. He completed just 9-of-22 passes for 77 yards in the game and was sacked four times.
“Zach’s career here is not over,” Saleh said Wednesday, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. “… This is not putting a nail in his coffin.”
Saleh acknowledged “irritation” in the locker room after Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. After his rough performance, Wilson said he did not think the offense—which registered 103 total yards from scrimmage—let the team’s defense down.
After the game, SNY reported that Wilson rubbed several teammates the wrong way by acting “like he isn’t the problem.”
On the year, the former BYU star is completing just 55.6% of his throws for 1,279 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions through in games. His completion percentage is identical to that from his 2021 rookie campaign, when he threw for 2,334 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 13 games, going 3–10 as the Jets starter.
The Jets will start Mike White over Wilson and veteran Joe Flacco against Chicago, Saleh said Wednesday. Flacco began the season as starter for New York with Wilson injured for the first three weeks of the regular season, but White recently supplanted him as QB2 on the Jets depth chart.
At 6–4, the Jets are in the mix for an AFC wild-card spot, though the AFC East is one of the NFL’s most competitive divisions this year. They have the same record as the Patriots, and are one game below both the Dolphins and Bills for the division lead.
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