Zach Wilson has taken a ton of heat following the New York Jets’ horrific loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, and it doesn’t look as though the hate will be coming to an end any time soon.
Wilson, despite continuing his streak of performing horrifically against the Patriots, doesn’t even have to worry about criticism for his poor performance off the field. It was his defiant postgame press conference that made headlines, leading to him becoming the target of criticism from Jets fans, former NFL standouts and seemingly his own teammates.
Former Patriots defensive lineman Chris Long got into the action Monday, going on a near five-minute monologue about Wilson’s behavior in an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“I have zero sympathy for Zach Wilson,” Long said, per Twitter video. “Like, less than zero if that’s possible, because it wasn’t a “Hey, did you let your defense down.’ ‘No, I don’t really want to go there’ (type of response). There’s a lot of different ways you can answer that question. You can say no without being so flippant. (He was) just so short about it, like, ‘No. Next question.’
“… You’ve got a rookie wide receiver delivering a monologue after the game, and that’s what you get from your quarterback? It’s really shameful, man.”
The rookie wide receiver Long was referring to was Garrett Wilson, who was critical of the entire Jets offensive operation after they had mustered up just two total yards after halftime, and walked away from the game with a mere three points. There have been reports Zach Wilson angered his teammates with his act at the podium, something Long clearly understands.
If I was a defensive player on that team, I would have already had a conversation with him,” Long said. “We’re on live radio, I can’t say what I would say, but I would say (something along the lines of) ‘Don’t you ever show us up like that again.’ “
The entire ordeal has seemingly led to Wilson’s potential removal as Jets starter, with head coach Robert Saleh refusing to commit to the second-year signal caller on Monday. Should the 23-year-old take a trip to the bench, either Mike White or Joe Flacco would be thrust into the role of starter. New York takes on the Chicago Bears in Week 12.
