In his first start of the season, Mike White led the Jets to a win over the Bears, throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in a 31–10 blowout. What made those two numbers notable is that Zach Wilson, who was benched for White last week, has yet to reach either threshold in a single game this year.
In total, White has now played in five games for the Jets over the last two seasons, however, that is enough for one former player to believe in him. On The Richard Sherman Podcast, Sherman explained that he has seen enough from White to declare him a franchise quarterback.
“I’m a production guy, Mike White has production,” Sherman said. “And then you hear about how his teammates talk about him, they talk about his work ethic, you hear about how happy they are for him and how much fun they’re having. That’s when you know you’ve got a special guy.”
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In his five games with New York since 2021, White has now thrown for a total of 1,268 passing yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has two games with over 300 yards passing, which is more than Wilson has had in 15 fewer games played.
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The Jets stuck by Wilson this year because he was the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, while White was a Cowboys fifth-round pick in ’18 who the Jets acquired off waivers the next year. However, Sherman doesn’t believe that should decide who plays.
“If we just took everything away and swapped the stories of Zach Wilson and Mike White, that it was just Mike White drafted No. 2 and he was playing this well and his teammates were saying this about him, you’d be like ‘hey, they made the right pick. They’ve got a franchise guy,’” he said. “But since he was a fifth-round pick, since he’s an unheralded guy, you’re not talking about ‘Oh, he’s a franchise quarterback.’”
After one game, White is already one passing touchdown from tying Wilson’s total on the year. With the Jets looking to snap the longest playoff drought in the league, White will likely get a chance to show he should keep the job for the rest of the season.
