By Dianna Russini, Zack Rosenblatt and Larry Holder
The New York Jets (4-6) are benching quarterback Zach Wilson and will start Tim Boyle moving forward, coach Robert Saleh said Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
Jets bench Wilson again
This is the third time the Jets have benched Wilson — and this will almost certainly be the last time.
The plan was never to play Wilson this year. The Jets hoped he’d spend the year learning from Aaron Rodgers. Plans changed when Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1 and the Jets’ decision to not sign another veteran quarterback in light of that injury proved to be costly.
Even as the Jets managed to steal some surprising wins against the Bills in Week 1 and Eagles in Week 6, Wilson only seemed to get worse with each passing week — culminating with a terrible performance against the Bills that got him benched for Boyle. Wilson ranks 37th of 38 eligible quarterbacks (minimum 100 dropbacks) — ahead of only the New York Giants’ Tommy DeVito — in EPA per dropback, per TruMedia.
Now the Jets will demote him to third-string quarterback behind Boyle and practice squad quarterback Siemian, which is what they did last year with Mike White and Joe Flacco. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets staff writer
Wilson was the worst, literally
This probably comes as a surprise to no one, but Wilson was literally the worst quarterback, statistically speaking, in the past three years.
Since coming into the league, here’s how he stacked in advanced metrics since 2021 (via TruMedia):
- Expected Points Added per dropback: -0.19 (35th among 36 qualified QBs)
- Total QB EPA: -229.2 (36th)
- Passer rating: 71.9 (36th)
- Completion percentage: 56.6 (36th)
- Third-down conversion percentage: 26.8 (36th)
His 2023 rates don’t paint any prettier of a picture:
- EPA per dropback: -0.24 (32nd among 32 qualified QBs)
- Total QB EPA: -103.9 (32nd)
- Passer rating: 73.8 (30th)
- Completion percentage: 59.2 (32nd)
- Third-down conversion percentage: 24.5 (32nd)
We all know the Jets hoped to not start Wilson again by trading for Rodgers this offseason. Now, they probably never will again. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer
What to expect from Boyle
Boyle doesn’t have a great track record statistically (three touchdowns, six interceptions as an NFL starter) but his best skill is his quick trigger and decisiveness, key traits for a quarterback playing behind the Jets’ makeshift offensive line. Next week, the Jets are expected to start their eighth different offensive line in 11 games.
Boyle averaged 2.38 seconds to throw against the Bills, per TruMedia, which would be one of the fastest averages of any quarterback in the NFL for the season.
“The main thing that stuck out was his confidence in the huddle,” tight end Tyler Conklin said Monday. “He commanded the huddle really well. He’s decisive getting the ball out of his hands. Those two things stuck out.” — Rosenblatt
Backstory
Wilson was 7-of-15 passing for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception at the time of his benching Sunday. He had a 57.9 passer rating.
Boyle has spent time with the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears during his career and has completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 607 yards, three touchdowns and nine interceptions.
What they’re saying
Saleh — when asked about Wilson’s future with the Jets — said, “We’ll deal with it in the offseason, guys. Right now it’s really about Miami.”
Saleh also said “no” when asked if, in retrospect, the Jets should’ve had a more proven No. 2 quarterback than Wilson.
“We think Zach is incredibly talented, felt like he’d get an opportunity to sit behind Aaron and just learn,” Saleh said. “Empathetically or sympathetically, when you look at Zach, he’s never really had the opportunity to watch somebody play the position. … That was his opportunity with Aaron and four plays in he’s back in the starting lineup. He never really got to sit back and absorb and just get that redshirt year you would have loved to have given him.”
Regarding New York’s pre-draft process that led them to select Wilson, Saleh said he’s “got (his) thoughts” and shared them with Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas but declined to elaborate on those thoughts.
Required Reading
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)