Garrett Wilson Sideline Shouting is Nothing Personal, Jets Insist

The New York Jets insist they want to get star receiver Garrett Wilson the ball. But for whatever reason, they can’t seem to do it, and Wilson – among many others – appears to be fed up. 

CBS cameras caught Wilson yelling on the sideline near the team’s bench in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. The initial call was that Wilson was yelling at quarterback Geno Smith, but later was amended to passing game coordinator Seth Ryan.  

Wilson had good reason to yell. After a week of coach promises that he’d see the ball more, he wound up with three targets in the game, none in the first half. He wound up with two catches for 26 yards. 

After the game, Wilson said he was upset with the red-zone play calls, not Smith.

“We were collaborating,” said Wilson, via ESPN. “I don’t even think I was talking to Geno. I think we were both heated, but not at each other at all. We were just disappointed with how we were playing up to that point and wanted to be a little more aggressive. That’s what that was.”

Smith agreed. “He might have been yelling, but I don’t think he was yelling at me,” he said.

The Jets passing game wasn’t being shut down against Miami, despite Wilson’s anguish. Rookie receiver Omar Cooper Jr. had more than 100 yards receiving and a touchdown, while tight end Mason Taylor had two touchdowns and caught a two-point conversion. 

“I think we can all do a better job of finding ways to get him more targets and more touches,” Smith said. “But the ball has to go where it goes based on coverage.”

Wilson’s numbers through seven games show him with 37 catches on 51 targets. He has 444 receiving yards and three touchdowns. However, he has just nine targets in the last two games. In both games, Cooper had more than 100 yards, perhaps indicating that teams are paying extra attention to Wilson and leaving others in single coverage. 

Smith and Wilson had a locker room conversation after the game. Wilson said the talk was focused on finding a way to get him the ball.

“Just trying to figure out how we can fix where we’re at right now, wanting to get it in our hands and make a difference and try to win these games that we feel like we’re a better team — and we’re not,” he said.

“Like I’ve said before, I want it in my hands to try and make an impact. So that’s all we were talking about, just putting it in our hands and how we can make that happen, being aggressive throughout and keeping ourselves out of those situations so we can win these games.”

The Jets will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. The Raiders have a somewhat leaky defense, surrendering 35.8 points per game while dropping four straight.