Getty New York Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson going through drills during camp.
Don’t count Robert Saleh among those worried that Zach Wilson isn’t at New York Jets training camp.
Tuesday, July 27 was reporting day for the 90-man roster as they go through the mundane prerequisites to getting everything underway before camp officially kicks off on Wednesday.
89 of the 90 players were present, the only person missing was the No. 2 overall pick from the 2021 NFL draft.
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What’s the Beef Here?
Wilson is hanging out in California, according to his latest Instagram posts, likely doing workouts with his quarterback coach (John Beck) who is also based on the west coast.
Why is he out there when Gang Green is about to kick off camp? A contract situation.
While his contract is non-negotiable per the rookie slotted contracts ($35.2M across a four-year deal), both sides are haggling over the finer details:
- Offset language
- The payment structure of his contract
Essentially what this boils down to is an extremely unlikely scenario. The only way either of these factors comes to light is if Wilson ends up being a bust and the Jets move on from him prior to the conclusion of his four-year rookie contract.
If that were to happen, the Jets want offset language that protects them in the future if they cut him and someone else was to scoop him up. Instead of allowing the player to double-dip (getting paid by the Jets and his new team), they want the other team to help offset some of the cost.
Don’t Worry About a Thing, Everything Is Going to Be Alright
“Obviously Joe Douglas is working on it this morning and hopefully that gets done,” Saleh on the Wilson contract situation. “When one person misses, someone else has to take over those reps.”
Right now the only other quarterbacks on the roster are James Morgan and Mike White. Saleh gave no indications during his media availability on Tuesday that the room is going to change any time soon if at all.
When asked if this is frustrating at all that a deal isn’t done yet with Wilson, Saleh simply responded, “no it’s a business and Joe has a great handle on everything and when it gets done, it gets done.”
Although the first-time head coach did provide a sliver of optimism saying, “we’ll see what happens in the next couple of hours.” Seemingly indicating that something could be in the works behind the scenes.
On Wilson potentially missing any time in camp, Saleh said, “it’s something he’ll have to navigate through and I have a lot of faith in Zach too. He’s incredibly intelligent and has a tremendous drive I know when he does get here someway somehow he’ll make up for it.”
Back in 2018, the Jets encountered a similar squabble between Sam Darnold and the organization over this offset language business. The former USC stud ended up missing three days of practice.
Will missing a few days of practice stunt the development of the former BYU stud? No that’s probably a bit hyperbolic, but the frustration among the fan base is about principle.
The Jets drafted Wilson on Thursday, April 29. Fast forward three months and during that time span they couldn’t figure out these final details?
This seems like something that could’ve been easily prevented, yet here we are on the eve of training camp getting underway.
Wilson needs every rep he can possibly get to prepare himself for the jump from BYU to the NFL. Additionally, no one wants to see Morgan or White take first-team reps on Wednesday.
It’s up to Douglas, Woody Johnson (business side of the organization), and Wilson’s camp to figure this thing out and stop all the senseless drama.
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