Jets' Aaron Rodgers hopes Zach Wilson will improve as backup

Aaron Rodgers believes his arrival can help Zach Wilson ultimately become the quarterback the New York Jets dreamed Wilson would be when they spent the second pick of the 2021 NFL Draft to land the BYU Cougars star. 

"I hope this time for him is like a deep inhale and exhale and he can really take a breath and pause and deal with the disappointment of last year and the frustration, and then channel it," Rodgers recently said about Wilson, as shared by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "I feel like he has, just re-channel it as a positive and focus on the opportunity in front of him to learn with a guy who loves him and cares about him and wants him to be great and wants him to do incredible things every day and be better." 

Wilson previously explained he grew up "trying to replicate" Rodgers, and the two signal-callers spent time together when the Jets and Green Bay Packers had joint training-camp practices during the summer of 2021. All of that occurred before Jets head coach Robert Saleh benched Wilson on multiple occasions last season and said ahead of Week 18 he wanted the 23-year-old to temporarily "get away from this game." After the Jets knew, for sure, they were acquiring Rodgers in April, general manager Joe Douglas insisted that working alongside a future Hall of Famer "is going to be a great thing for Zach." 

Rodgers revealed he's impressed with how Wilson has thus far performed in camp this summer. 

"He’s made a number of great throws," Rodgers added about his primary backup. "He looks confident. His fundamentals are improving. He’s throwing the ball on time. He’s got all the intangibles. . . . I think he’ll look back years from now and be really thankful for this time to grow, to reset, to take a breath, and it’s gonna set him up for a nice long career in the league." 

Rodgers said Tuesday his relationship with the Jets "is going to be a few years partnership," and it's unclear what that means for Wilson's future. For now, the third-year pro is tasked with sitting under the learning tree and watching a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player attempt to guide the Jets to more than just a playoff berth.