The season-ending Achilles tear suffered by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which was verified by an MRI on Tuesday, has forced him to retire. New York Jets coach Robert Saleh backed Zach Wilson as the team’s new starter and made fun of people who think their playoff chances are over.
Saleh said through zoom call to the reporters
“I don’t know why people are trying to put an obituary under our team name,” “I do want to make it very clear: Zach’s our quarterback,”
“We’ve got a lot of faith in Zach. “This is Zach’s team and we’re rolling with Zach,”
Rodgers was placed on injured reserve after suffering an injury on the Jets’ fourth snap of the new year. He will need surgery to repair his Achilles. Saleh refused to provide a timeline but said they hope the four-time MVP, who was the highlight of their record-breaking offseason, will remain with the team during his recovery.
Saleh has refused to divulge a lot on Rodgers future,
“As you guys can imagine, he’s down,” “I’ll let him answer those questions. I didn’t get into the future of what he’s expecting or what he’s thinking. I think that’s a conversation, tactfully, left for another day. But he’s, as you can imagine, with everything that he’s invested in this, he’s obviously a little disappointed.” “We all want him to be connected and I think he wants to be here,”
Zach Wilson to the rescue ?
The tragic injury led to a lot of buzz about potential successors. Although it is anticipated that the Jets may sign a veteran, Saleh emphasized that Wilson is now the team’s starting quarterback and that no additions will be made to challenge the former first-round choice.
Wilson, who struggled last year and was twice demoted, will start for the 23rd time in his career on Sunday against the unbeaten Dallas Cowboys. Tim Boyle, a journeyman, will be promoted from the practice squad to serve as the game’s primary backup.
The great plan for the Jets was to give Wilson, 24, some time to develop under Rodgers before giving him back the starting job, but things started to alter just 4:04 into Monday night’s 22-16 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills.
