Garrett Wilson offers alarming comments after Jets' loss to Dolphins

Roughly 11 months ago, wide receiver Garrett Wilson raised eyebrows when he said he had just completed "the worst year of my life" after the New York Jets finished the 2023 season at 7-10.

Following the Jets' 32-26 overtime loss at the Miami Dolphins on Sunday that dropped Gang Green to 3-10 for the ongoing campaign, Wilson spoke openly about the state of his employer. 

"When you’re up in the fourth quarter all of a sudden it starts to feel like we have a losing problem, like a gene or some s—," Wilson said, as shared by Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. "It’s not like we’re going out there and getting our butt beat from start to finish. No, we have a chance to win the game, we’re supposed to win the game, odds are in our favor and we find a way to lose." 

One couldn't blame Wilson for sounding a bit broken on Sunday afternoon. The 2022 first-round draft pick will now be part of three straight losing seasons to begin his career, while the Jets have officially extended the longest active playoff drought in the four major North American sports leagues to 14 consecutive campaigns. 

Additionally, it appears Jets owner Woody Johnson wants to move the franchise far away from the Aaron Rodgers era as soon as possible after Johnson dismissed both head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas earlier this fall. 

"How shocking is it? If you had told me that in training camp I would’ve been shocked. As far as how the season’s went and stuff like that, I ain’t that shocked," Wilson added about all that's gone wrong for the Jets over the past handful of months. "If you had told me that in training camp after the way we prepped, the way we practiced, the way we handled business when we had the other teams come in, I would’ve been like: Yeah, you’re lying. Hell no. We put it together, but one of my takeaways from this is we gotta win when the season comes. Winning in the offseason is winning in the offseason. Winning in training camp is winning in training camp. Let’s win when it matters."

There's no guarantee Wilson will want to continue trying to win with the Jets "when it matters" beyond Week 18. He's eligible to negotiate a contract extension during the upcoming offseason, and history shows wide receivers often force their way out of situations if they see supposed greener pastures elsewhere. 

Wilson added after Sunday's defeat that "we gotta stop being losers." Johnson had better viewed that statement as a warning regarding the 24-year-old's future.