Is this the end for New York Jets QB Zach Wilson?

Zach Wilson has been an extremely popular individual in the media this week but for all the wrong reasons. As the news continues to pour in it appears Zach Wilson’s time as the quarterback of the New York Jets is coming to a possible end.

It might be a surprise to many that the New York Jets have benched their starting quarterback, Zach Wilson, despite having a 6-4 record when they only won four games total in 2021. The reason being is the overall performance and conduct of their starting quarterback.

It began when the New York Jets lost to their AFC East rival, the New England Patriots with a final score of 3-10. The final seven points did not come until less than a minute was left on the clock in the 4th quarter. To add insult to injury the Jets’ defense held the Patriots to three points for almost all four quarters while Wilson produced an abysmal stat line of 9 completions out of 22 attempts for 77 total yards and zero touchdowns. After the game, Wilson was asked if he let the defense down…

Wilson’s lack of accountability infuriated fans and the sports media world and Wilson dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky called Wilson’s comments “pathetic” and stated that they “reek of insecurity.” Former head coach of the New York Jets Rex Ryan had some words to share about Wilson and compared him to other quarterbacks currently shining in the league.

"“You know what? This kid doesn’t get it,” Ryan said. “When you have a bad game — your team loses — as a quarterback and a leader of the team, you always start with ‘I’ and ‘me.’ ‘I had a poor game. I got to get better. My receivers were open, I got to deliver the ball to ’em. This game is on me.’ You know what? That’s what we see out of Jalen Hurts. Didn’t we see that out of Josh Allen when he said, ‘Hard to win games when plays like poop?’ Way different thing here. Kid, grow up.”"

Now ahead of the Jet’s Week 12 match-up against the Chicago Bears head coach Robert Saleh reported that Zach Wilson had been benched and backup quarterback Mike White would be leading the team on Sunday. The benching of Wilson signifies issues not only with his performance but clear dissension within the Jets’ locker room.

ESPN’S Mike “Greeny” Greenberg believes that Wilson being benched is more than a temporary issue only involving Week 12 of this season, but that this may be a long-term issue.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh says that this “isn’t a nail in Zach’s coffin” and his career in New York is far from over.  While Wilson publicly appeared to take the benching in stride and admitted he has to focus and work on getting back to where he needs to be this moment is monumental for his career. As the second overall pick from 2021 Wilson playing at a poor level with only four total passing touchdowns (ranked 32nd among quarterbacks) and five interceptions.

Being benched is not a result of Wilson’s “no” comment, well not entirely, but his performance on the field is simply unacceptable for a quarterback of his pedigree. When he was drafted he was expected to perform at a high level but the only reason the Jets are performing as well as they have been is the coaching, the defense, and Wilson being carried by the playmakers’ general manager Joe Douglas has surrounded him with.

Regardless of whether Mike White wins this weekend, Zach Wilson is definitely on the hot seat. Wilson should be ready to face the fact that the timeless phrase “every position is evaluated in the offseason” is actually true and in his case Joe Douglas and his team will definitely be looking at the quarterback position.

Unless Wilson wants his time in New York to end prematurely he needs to mature and play to the level expected of him or we could see a new face leading “Gang Green” in 2023.