Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson walking off of the football field after an NFL game.
On Friday, January 20 New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson was accused of being “late to meetings, screwing around in meetings, and not having the right attitude” during the season, per NFL Insider Jordan Schultz of The Score.
He made these comments during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Hours after these comments were made several reputable media personalities came out and debunked this report.
Connor Hughes of SNY said that Wilson’s issues this season were “on [the] field” and said his work ethic and desire to be great was “never a problem.” He directly called the Schultz report that claimed Wilson was late to meetings “100 percent false.”
The issues with Zach Wilson were on field. Only thing off it was that his personality, accountability pre-benching rubbed some wrong way — as was discussed.
His work ethic, desire to be great never a problem.
And, no, he was never late to meetings. That’s 100% false #Jets
Jordan Schutlz Receives Major Backlash for ‘False’ Jets Report
The Pat McAfee Show initially sent out a viral tweet with quotes from Schultz’s report, but later deleted it.
After removing the tweet, McAfee tweeted an update:
“Our source(s) have told us that Zach Wilson has never been late to a meeting.”
That update was then quote-tweeted by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network who defended Wilson saying, “the on-field product was not what anyone wanted but Zach Wilson worked insanely hard, was on time, and did what was necessary to prepare.”
Robby Sabo of Jets X-Factor said the “misbehaving” and “tardiness to meetings” accusations aren’t true. However, he did say that his source didn’t refute some of the other things that have been brought up lately.
The Zach Wilson reports about him “misbehaving” and/or “tardiness to meetings” are indeed not true, per a trusted individual—same person who has *not* refuted other recent reports in the atmosphere.
Rebuttal “selection” as opposed to “everything” is an important note per trust.
Zach Wilson Is Set for a Major Offseason With Jets
The former BYU product just completed his second season with the Jets.
He still has two additional years left on his rookie contract plus a fifth-year option for the 2025 season.
Gang Green has been clear from the outset of this offseason that they will be aggressive at the quarterback position. However, the plan for Wilson is somewhat unclear.
With how things are currently constructed he is set to be the primary backup or the developmental third string in 2023.
The Jets’ message this offseason is they don’t plan on giving up on the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. There was also a separate report from the national media that the Jets don’t plan on shopping Wilson this offseason.
One of the reasons the team may not want to shop him is that Wilson’s value is as low as it has ever been. Any potential deal this offseason would likely net a very small return and provide marginal financial relief.
Plus general manager Joe Douglas would be admitting the organization made a colossal mistake in selecting Wilson in the first place if they dealt him away after two seasons.
With that being the case the Jets may be best served by just holding onto him to see what can happen. Gang Green will be welcoming in a new offensive scheme this offseason and perhaps that will better mesh with Wilson’s unique skillset.
On top of all of that, the Jets know better than anyone that you can never have enough quarterbacks. This past season is a perfect example as the team was forced to play four different quarterbacks and ended up starting three of them.