NY Jets bench Zach Wilson, will start Mike White vs. Bears

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is taking a seat, as head coach Robert Saleh announced Mike White will take over as QB1.

Zach-Wilson-Benched-Mike-White-NY-Jets
Zach Wilson, Mike White, New York Jets, Getty Images

Zach Wilson benched; Mike White to start for New York Jets

Only 20 games into his career, Zach Wilson has lost his grip on the New York Jets‘ starting quarterback job. Head coach Robert Saleh announced on Wednesday that Mike White will be replacing Wilson as the team’s signal-caller for its Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears.

Saleh made it clear that Wilson’s career with the Jets “is not over.” He adds that they want to get Wilson back on the field at some point this season and that the “young man needs a reset.” Saleh labeled the benching as a “small setback” that is “not putting a nail in his coffin.”

Saleh says he does not think the Jets’ locker room “hates” Wilson but did say there may be “a little irritation at the moment”.

The Jets plan to make Joe Flacco their backup for Sunday’s game against Chicago. Wilson will be inactive.

It’s a stunning fall from grace for the man who New York selected with the second overall pick just 19 months ago. Wilson entered the league with tantalizing potential and closed his rookie season looking like an improved quarterback. But through seven games of his second season, Wilson proved to be the primary weakness on a team that appears to be legitimately capable of making a deep playoff run.

In seven starts, Wilson led the Jets to a 5-2 record, but his production wasn’t much assistance in that. Wilson has completed 105 of 189 passes (55.6%) for 1,279 yards (6.8 per attempt), 4 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions (72.6 rating). His QBR is 45.1.

White, 27, will make his fourth NFL start. He played in four games for the Jets last season, starting three. White completed 88 of 132 passes (66.7%) for 953 yards (7.2 per attempt), 5 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions (75.1 rating). He had a 50.5 QBR.

5 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Archive

We've been covering the New York Jets since the infamous Adam Gase era, when Jamal Adams held court and Sam Darnold contracted diseases via the kiss. Use the Jets X-Factor Archives | Advanced Search to find any piece of Jet X content since our 2020 founding:
Take me to the Jet X Archives