Account
Robert Saleh: Jets Committed to Zach Wilson Development 'Through Hell or High Water'
January 4, 2023
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh isn't ready to throw in the towel on second-year quarterback Zach Wilson.
Saleh told reporters Wednesday the Jets "believe in the young man" and want to rebuild his confidence.
"We're gonna grind with him," he said. "Through hell or high water we're going to get him to where we know he can be."
Some have already begun to wonder whether the 23-year-old is effectively done with the Jets. He was a work in progress as a rookie, throwing for 2,334 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Into his second season, he has shown little improvement.
Through nine appearances, he has 1,688 passing yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. His completion percentage has fallen slightly from 55.6 to 54.5, and his 37.2 QBR would rank 27th if he qualified for ESPN.com's leaderboard.
Most damning, the Jets offense has performed better with multiple other quarterbacks running things.
It's not a good sign when the player you selected second overall can't beat out Mike White for the starting job.
Maybe it is simply a case of letting Wilson mentally reset in the offseason. At the least, he can't possibly be worse in 2023.
Saleh's comments come days after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Jets general manager Joe Douglas "does not plan to shop Wilson this offseason" and that New York "views Wilson as an incredibly hard worker, a good teammate and very smart."
But NFL fans might remember the Arizona Cardinals being committed to Josh Rosen during the 2019 offseason until they weren't anymore. They said all of the right things until the moment of truth came and they shipped him to the Miami Dolphins.
How the Jets truly feel about Wilson will become clear when it's time to line up a starting quarterback for the 2023 campaign.