With the New York Jets’ playoff hopes officially squashed, Hall-of-Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe thinks it’s time for Jets fans to apologize to an old friend.
Speaking on his “Nightcap” show, Sharpe (who is notoriously anti-Aaron Rodgers) went through a lengthy rant directed at Jets fans, begging them to forgive their former second overall pick.
“I don’t know what [Aaron Rodgers] was thinking when he went there; they don’t care about that resume. They don’t, they really don’t,” said Sharpe “All I know is that New York fans, y’all owe Zach Wilson an apology. Zach Wilson was 5-7 last year; Aaron Rodgers [is] 3-10. New York, you owe that man an apology. Y’all need to put y’all money together and take out an ad in The Post, Page Six, The New York Times, The Daily News — I don’t care.
“Whoever flew that plane over [MetLife Stadium] for the Giants, y’all need to fly one over for the Jets and say, ‘We want to apologize to you personally, Zach Wilson because it wasn’t you.’”
It is quite the switch-up from Sharpe, who must have forgotten what he thought of Wilson when he was playing for the Jets. In September 2023, Sharpe said of Wilson, “the dude couldn’t play dead in a horror movie.”
And Sharpe was correct when he made those comments. Wilson was brutal as the Jets’ starting quarterback. From 2021-23, Wilson ranked 42nd out of 43 qualified quarterbacks in EPA (Expected Points Added) per dropback, with a dismal mark of -0.16.
While Rodgers is struggling in 2024, it is hyperbolic to suggest that he is a downgrade compared to Wilson. Rodgers has certainly been a below-average starting quarterback, but his -0.06 EPA per dropback is still better than Wilson’s, ranking 24th out of 34 qualifiers in the 2024 season. He has already thrown more touchdowns in 2024 (20) than Wilson did over his last two seasons with the Jets (17).
Sharpe cited the two quarterbacks’ win-loss records as the reason New York fans should apologize to Wilson, but that is a faulty argument. The disparity in their win-loss records is mostly due to the decline of the Jets’ defense. In 2023, Wilson enjoyed the benefit of a Jets defense that ranked third-best in defensive DVOA. In 2024, the Jets have free-fallen to 19th in defensive DVOA. If you swapped the defenses, the records would probably swap, too. Wins are not a quarterback stat, Shannon.
Rodgers deserves plenty of criticism for his play in 2024, but there is no reason why Wilson should be brought into the conversation. Wilson was unplayable as the Jets’ starting quarterback, and they were correct to move on from him. Everything that happened afterward with Rodgers should be analyzed separately from Wilson’s failure.
Sharpe’s hypocrisy perfectly exemplifies why it is foolhardy for anyone to start viewing Wilson in a positive light now that Rodgers has failed. Sharpe himself was incredibly critical of Wilson when he was playing. Now, suddenly, he thinks Wilson deserves an apology?
It doesn’t work that way. Wilson was disappointing and so was Rodgers. Both can be true.
