By the time Week 12 rolls through, the Jets and the Bears could be starting different quarterbacks.
Chicago signal-caller Justin Fields suffered a left shoulder injury during the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11. The severity of the injury is unknown as of Monday but puts a damper on the second-year QB’s in-season turnaround.
New York only scored three points against the New England Patriots on Sunday, and it lost the game due to rookie Marcus Jones taking a punt return 84 yards for a touchdown with five seconds to go in the game.
The offense deserved its fair share of blame for only accumulating two yards in the second half, but Zach Wilson didn’t seem interested in taking responsibility for the loss. His teammate and rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson wasn’t shy about how the offense performed, and Robert Saleh was blunt in his postgame comments.
Monday’s news conference for the Jets head coach was surprisingly delayed, and Saleh delivered a message that should concern Zach Wilson’s future.
“Not right right, not until I’m done evaluating everything,” Saleh told reporters when asked if he’s committing to Wilson as the team’s starter this Sunday, per team-provided video. “I’ve got to be able to sit back — I think we all have got to be able to sit back and just look at what’s best for this organization and this team. It’s not all about the quarterback. I want to be very, very clear. It’s not all about the quarterback. There’s a lot of things that we can do better as coaches, a lot of things that the O-line needs to do better, receivers, running backs, tight ends, play-caller, defense, everybody, special teams. I get it when everyone looks at the quarterback and just wants to throw everything on him. It’s not always about the quarterback. …”
The comments were surprising as Saleh has continuously defended his quarterback from criticism and has stood firm on Wilson’s status on the team. But it’s not hard to see why New York would consider a change.