When you thought this season couldn’t possibly get worse, the Jets seem primed to author another Laurel and Hardy-type episode. On Monday, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweeted that the Jets want to start Zach Wilson after benching him. But in a story twist, she (and her co-authors) also reported that Wilson is reluctant to start for the Jets.
Only this sorry franchise wants to return to a benched starter after the other options have been so awful. Only this franchise can deal with a starting quarterback who doesn’t want to play a game for them ever again after being traumatized by the boos and tough losses. As the saying goes, you couldn’t make it up. It’s so Jets-like.
There’s no reason to start Wilson ever again. He’s finished here. He had his chance, and he failed. To expect anything different from him would be insanity after he has lost his job three times with this franchise. It’s just stupid.
Yes, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian aren’t great quarterbacks, but how is Wilson the answer? The Jets had stunk with and without the once #2 overall draft pick. They can still stink with Siemian with five games to go, but they would at least stink with dignity. But to put a failed quarterback back in when he is beaten up is cruel. Only the Jets could go and make him a martyr.
What’s the point of starting Wilson? Is it so Jets fans can boo him again? Wilson has been the poster boy for everything wrong about the franchise, and it’s also understandable why he is not in a good place. It’s laughable for management to believe Wilson would give the team the proverbial “best chance to win.”
But for those who want to rip him for not wanting to play, let me say I believe that’s beside the point. It doesn’t matter whether he wants to play. It will do no good for him or the team to have him out there in his state of mind, especially when fans don’t want to watch him play in New York … ever.
So, what gives? Here’s my theory. Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas is desperate to get something out of Wilson, to show he made the right decision by drafting him. Besides, I doubt it’s Robert Saleh’s idea to bring him back. The Jets head coach saw enough of Wilson and he also knows his state of mind. It would be cruel for a head coach to start Wilson again, especially when it’s obvious that the Jets’ O-line can’t protect him.
Of course, there’s a good reason why the Jets stayed with him so long: the team didn’t have better options, which became apparent from observing Boyle’s and Siemian’s play. But the end should have come with Wilson’s benching. There should be no going back, never again.
But perhaps the most important observation is this: it shouldn’t have come to this. Douglas knew he had to find options at quarterback after Aaron Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon four snaps into the game in the opener vs. the Buffalo Bills. Instead, he doubled down on Wilson. The outcome? The Jets wasted their season.
That’s why this season has gone to hell. Douglas’ belief in Wilson should cost him his job when the last game is played. To hold off searching for a better option is nothing less than malpractice. Plain and simple, this is an organizational failure that should cost jobs.
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Dianna Russini’s tweet is based on this co-authored article.
The Jets are simply unwatchable. With Wilson. With anybody. Their game plan is three and out. This is an absolute low since Namath.
Thanks for reading, Bucky.
This is the worst as it gets with the Jets. You are right about this being an absolute low. We don’t have a quarterback, and that’s never a great thing in a league that requires a quarterback to win games. We don’t have a head coach, who I think will be fired after this season. We don’t have a general manager that knows what he’s doing. You got a head coach who texts a radio personality (Joe Benigno) about the state of the Jets and now you got Joe spilling the beans as he goes off the handle on the Jets every week. It’s an absolute mess that’s not going to get better. It starts with ownership.
There’s no reason to watch them or be invested with them.