New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson says he wasn’t surprised by his benching, given the play of the offense.
“Not surprised,” Wilson said of his benching, according to SNY.
He added: "When you’re not scoring touchdowns consistently, and we’re letting our defense down, we’re not putting up points, what do you expect? You can sit there and be happy with the progress that I feel like I’ve made personally, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t score, and I truly understand that.
“It starts with the quarterback, and it’s finding a way to get it done, and we’re not doing that.”
Wilson was benched in the third quarter of the team’s 32-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The 24-year-old finished the game with 81 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on seven completions.
Tim Boyle finished the contest at quarterback and has been named the starter for the club’s Week 12 game against the Miami Dolphins.
The Jets’ offense has struggled with Wilson at the helm, ranking 30th in points and yards per game. He took over the starting job when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles four offensive plays into the season.
Wilson has failed to hold onto the starting job since being selected second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The BYU product is under contract for one more year, holding a cap hit of $11.1 million in 2024, according to Over the Cap.
“It’s not something I’ve thought about. It’s really not,” Wilson said of his future with the Jets, per SNY. “I think where I’m at is I truly do have so much love and care for this offense. I’m really to the point where I want to see us succeed whether I’m out there or not. Me and Timmy (Boyle) have grown extremely close.”
Wilson has thrown for 5,966 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions in 32 career games with New York.
I think he said all the right things. We all want these players to work out but sometimes it just doesnt click. Doesn’t mean Zach Wilson is done in the league, he really does some natural ability that. He has a pretty big arm and is athletic but he definitely needs to take time off, study and ride the bench a bit kinda like Geno did which worked wonders for him. I mean everyone was hoping it would be Rodgers this year and Zach on the bench soaking in whatever Rodgers can teach him and just study and work on his game but he was thrusted into the line up and basically continued on from last seasons while again showing flashes of why he was a number 2 pick to begin with (although it was a reach regardless)
I honestly hope Zach moves to a new team with people in place to actually develop a QB. He obviously has all the talent.