At his media availability on Monday, New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh announced Tim Boyle’s backup
The New York Jets’ quarterback room continues to be shuffled.
At his Monday press availability, head coach Robert Saleh announced that Tim Boyle would be the starter for Friday’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins. The head coach said the decision to go with Boyle was “to give him an opportunity” and “see if we can do something with the offense.”
Saleh also said that Trevor Siemian, currently on the team’s practice squad, would be the team’s backup quarterback. Zach Wilson, the embattled former number two overall pick, will now be the team’s number three quarterback on game day. All three quarterbacks, according to Saleh, are expected to be active.
Zach Wilson be active as the #Jets No. 3 quarterback behind Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian this week, per Robert Saleh.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) November 20, 2023
Regarding Wilson, the Jets’ head coach said they did not consider cutting him after the benching and will address his future in the offseason. Saleh also spoke about the hindsight of not adding another quarterback in the offseason.
“Like we said, we think he’s incredibly talented. It felt like he’d get an opportunity to sit behind Aaron and learn… He’s never had an opportunity to watch someone play the position,” said Saleh.
“Joe Flacco was fantastic, and Mike White did some good things. But to sit back and just watch from the ground up, that was his opportunity with Aaron, and four plays in, he’s back in the starting lineup. He never really got a chance just to sit back and kind of absorb and get that redshirt year that you would have loved to give him. You can always play the hindsight game, but we felt we did what was best for the organization and the team.”
Most significantly, Saleh said he has “got [his] thoughts” on what the Jets could have done differently at quarterback during the 2021 NFL draft. He stated that he shared those thoughts with Douglas but declined to reveal them during the press conference.
"I've got my thoughts, I've shared them with Joe (Douglas)," Robert Saleh on where the #Jets could have gone differently during the pre-draft process, which led them to drafting Zach Wilson.
Said he will not share those thoughts with us.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 20, 2023
Overall, the Jets feel like a team dead in the water and trying to find any solution to spark their offense. With the Wilson and Nathaniel Hacket combination, the Jets currently have the worst third-down percentage in recorded NFL history at 22.9 percent. They have nine total touchdowns in ten games. They went 41 consecutive possessions without scoring a touchdown.
Switching up the quarterback position could spark the offense, but the Jets should not be banking on it. Their issues are extremely deep-rooted in the offense’s overall scheme, talent, philosophy, and coaching. Essentially, there is no quick fix that the Jets can implement this season.
The cracks are forming on this Jets team, whether on the field with their lack of discipline and frustration or through Saleh’s comments today. Unless Boyle or Siemian can right the ship for the Jets, it will be another long offseason full of questions for the Jets.
