Coach shares surprising take on Jets' Zach Wilson

The New York Jets want to trade quarterback Zach Wilson but reportedly will release him if no buyer emerges ahead of summer training camp workouts. 

It appears not everybody associated with the Jets views Wilson as a lost cause. 

"One of his coaches told me Wednesday that he still believes the 24-year-old is 'made of the right stuff' and can find success if he can achieve a level of consistency he never did in New York," Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared about Wilson. "It also should help being away from a place where he’s already been branded a bust by the fan base." 

Jets head coach Robert Saleh benched Wilson multiple times during the 2022 season, and Wilson upset teammates when he publicly declined to take responsibility for at least one loss that fall. The second overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft displayed growth and maturity starting in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers this past campaign, but Wilson nevertheless failed to produce winning results for a squad that could've qualified for the postseason with even average quarterback play. 

For a piece published on Jan. 31, Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that Saleh privately "pinned many of the team’s offensive issues on Wilson, the line and the receivers and told people getting to eight wins with Wilson at quarterback would be a 'miracle.'" The 2023 Jets finished at 7-10. 

"Those around Wilson say he was way less affected by the noise around him in 2023, even if the scars from the previous two years were still with him," Breer continued in his column. "He still loves football and, given a bit of breather, and maybe some time on the bench, could very well learn from having to come out of a really difficult situation and a place where it seemed like a faceplant followed every step forward he took." 

Regardless of what detractors may think, Wilson certainly wasn't the worst quarterback on an NFL roster last season. With that said, the coach who spoke to Breer may simply be trying to convince a team to spend a conditional sixth or seventh-round draft pick on the signal-caller who is clearly surplus to requirements with the Jets ahead of March.