Jets' Zach Wilson explains why he regrets infamous postgame comment

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has expressed remorse for the attitude he displayed shortly after this past Sunday's loss at the New England Patriots. 

"The way that I handled the situation wasn’t right," Wilson said Wednesday after he was benched and demoted to QB3 status by Jets head coach Robert Saleh, per Connor Hughes of SNY (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). "I gotta be a better football player and then I gotta be a better leader for these guys. I have an opportunity to turn a page here as a player and as a leader." 

Wilson completed nine of 22 passes for 77 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the 10-3 defeat at New England. Then he made things worse when he refused to say he "let the defense down" during his postgame press conference. Saleh announced Wednesday that backup Mike White will start under center when the 6-4 Jets host the 3-8 Chicago Bears this Sunday. Veteran Joe Flacco will be second on the depth chart, while Wilson will be inactive through at least the final weekend of November. 

"It’s tough, man," Wilson admitted about being relegated to scout team duties until further notice. "It’s never fun. The first thing that kinda went to my mind is that I gotta get to work. I gotta get better and I’m gonna approach that every single day to keep working to get better. . . . I wouldn’t say necessarily surprised because I haven’t been doing my job. Of course, I would like to not agree with the decision but it comes down to I’ve gotta play better." 

Before Wilson addressed the media, it was reported that there is no timeline for when the 23-year-old could make another start. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio noted that a source said the situation "comes down to when Wilson shows that he’s ready to resume his role in the lineup." 

Of course, White could make Saleh's decision easy by winning at least Sunday's game.