Jets fans probably are getting awfully nervous about the state of their team and sophomore quarterback Zach Wilson.
New York head coach Robert Salah on Wednesday said Wilson won’t play in Sunday’s season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. Nor will the second pick from the 2021 NFL Draft play in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns and in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, the earliest Wilson could take the field this season would be in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers — and even that’s not a guarantee.
So, what’s going on?
Wilson, who missed time last season with a knee injury, was expected to sit out roughly two-to-four weeks after undergoing surgery on Aug. 16 to repair a torn meniscus. The Jets initially feared the 23-year-old could miss more time, but the prognosis after his surgery was relatively positive. And even this week, with Wilson returning to practice in some capacity, Saleh indicated the uber-talented signal-caller could play against Baltimore.
But things changed Wednesday. Wilson reportedly is dealing with inflammation and could miss up to a month, if not longer. In his place, 37-year-old Joe Flacco will steer the ship for what many believe is a talented Jets team on the rise. That’s certainly not a recipe for ascension in the AFC East, however.
And then you have tweets like these from NFL Media’s Dan Hanzus, who sure sounds like he knows something:
Obviously, there’s a chance that none of this matters. Wilson could return in a few weeks, finally turn into Patrick Mahomes 2.0 and help New York leapfrog the New England Patriots, who’ll host the Jets on Oct. 30.
But it’s also possible that Wilson remains out for that matchup and beyond, and that things get even worse for the Jets. You can’t rule anything out given how things have gone for that franchise over the last half-century.
