Jets expect word on Zach Wilson by Tuesday night or Wednesday morning
Zach Wilson #2 of the New York Jets looks on during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sep. 25, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Zach isn’t back just yet.
The expectation is that quarterback Zach Wilson will be cleared this week and make his season debut on Sunday in Pittsburgh. Robert Saleh said he’s waiting on confirmation from Wilson’s doctors that he’s good to go after recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the preseason.
Saleh said that should come by Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. If things go according to plan, Wilson will be running the first-team offense when the Jets return to practice on Wednesday.
“We’re looking for confirmation,” Saleh said. “Once Zach’s doctors clear him, he’ll be ready to roll. I can’t really define that until we get clearance from them.”
Wilson suffered a bone bruise in his right knee and a torn meniscus after sustaining a non-contact injury in an Aug. 12 game in Philadelphia. Initially, the thought was that he could return by Week 1. After he had his knee scoped and his meniscus trimmed, the timeline changed. The target date became Week 4 against the Steelers.
The Jets (1-2) were always going to be cautious with Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, who they believe will develop into a franchise quarterback. Wilson’s doctors were going to be cautious as well.
A team doctor didn’t perform Wilson’s procedure. Instead, he went to noted surgeon Dr. Neil ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
When Saleh was asked how the process is handled with Wilson’s doctors being in California, he said there has been regular communication.
“They’ve been keeping tabs with regards to his progress and his day-to-day activities,” Saleh said. “There’s been a lot of detail in his day-to-day activities. It’s more communication than anything, I think.”
Wilson has been doing individual work the last two weeks at practice and on the field before games. His workload has ramped up each week. He’s been throwing to uncovered receivers running routes and moved well on his dropbacks and rollouts.
At the end of practices, Wilson has taken part in some 7-on-7 drills that Jets coaches call “Flight School.” It’s for the third-string players and practice squad guys to get in some work.
“He’s been doing those 7-on-7 periods with all those guys and getting the reps and working through dropbacks and progression and all the different things that we ask him to do,” Saleh said.
Wilson’s teammates have noticed how hard he is working.
“Ever since he had that injury and he was allowed to come back and work out, he was working to get back,” left guard Laken Tomlinson said. “We love to see that. Zach’s a hell of a guy. He’s putting in the work he’s doing with the trainers and the strength staff as well. He’s been working his tail off to get back.”
Wilson still hasn’t gone through a contact practice since Aug. 10, so if he’s cleared to practice Wednesday, how he feels after that will determine his status for Sunday.
Saleh doesn’t seem concerned about the uncertainty affecting the Jets’ game plan for Sunday. If Wilson doesn’t play, the Jets probably will stick with Joe Flacco. Either way, they’ll have time to adjust.
“You got your base game plan on how you do things and then you start adding based on players and all that stuff,” Saleh said. “There’s plenty of time from a game-planning standpoint to do what we need to do to get ready for Pittsburgh.”
Flacco has thrown five touchdown passes and three interceptions in three games. He led the Jets to a miraculous victory in Cleveland, throwing two of his four touchdown passes in the span of a minute to lead a 31-30 win. In Sunday’s 27-12 loss to Cincinnati, he threw no touchdown passes and turned the ball over four times: two interceptions and two fumbles.
Saleh repeatedly said no matter how Flacco was playing, the Jets would turn the offense over to Wilson when he was healthy enough to play. They need him to develop as a quarterback. So much of this franchise’s future is riding on that.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
