Getty New York Jets QB Zach Wilson talking with Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers after an NFL game.
The awkward silence has finally been broken.
The New York Jets have been very aggressively pursuing Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers this offseason. So much so that players have come out on social media and appeared on podcasts to convince the talented passer to come to New York.
Zach Wilson, the former No. 2 overall pick, has been radio silent. His last Twitter activity came on November 22, 2022, when he retweeted something to support his brother.
Brian Costello of the New York Post revealed an update on that front via The Crew podcast with Josina Anderson.
“[The Jets] think Aaron Rodgers will be good for Zach [Wilson], there’s a relationship there. They’ve developed a friendship where they text back and forth. I’ve heard there have been some recent discussions between the two of them.”
Zach Wilson-Aaron Rodgers Dynamic
People have been split on social media.
Some have believed that a Wilson-Rodgers QB room would be great since they have such a good relationship. Others believed it could be awkward because Wilson was heralded as the savior now someone else has come in and taken his job.
It would be very easy for something like this to go south, but it sounds like this is the perfect storm for all parties involved.
Rodgers is 39 years of age and he will turn 40 during the 2023 season. He has openly contemplated retirement over the last few years and is obviously closer to the end than the beginning.
Wilson on the other hand is 23 years old and he will turn 24 before the start of next season. If the Jets would’ve added a Jimmy Garoppolo (31) or a Derek Carr (31), it’s unclear how that QB room could’ve worked with Wilson.
The former BYU product openly admitted in the summer of 2021 during Jets-Packers joint practices that he has idolized Rodgers since he was a kid. With A-Rod’s age, there is a chance he could be one-and-done with the Jets which would open the door back up for Wilson in theory in 2024.
Zach Wilson Set to Be QB2 for Jets in 2023
With only Wilson and Chris Streveler on the roster, fans have wondered who will be the QB2 if Rodgers is traded to the team this offseason.
It sure sounds like the former No. 2 overall pick will be the No. 2 quarterback this season.
“I think the Jets are hoping that an offseason can help him clear his head a little bit and get rid of some of the confidence issues he had against Jacksonville, I don’t know if that’ll be accurate,” Costello explained on The Crew podcast that was posted on Friday, March 24. “The Jets are hoping that him [Rodgers] being the big brother there will help Zach develop. The lie detector test on the Jets they’re praying that Zach Wilson doesn’t have to play this year. They’re hoping he can play all spring while Aaron sits and watches. He [Wilson] will play all summer, you know Aaron is not going to play in preseason games, so Zach will play all of those games. They [the coaching staff] will see if they can rebuild him.”
Wilson struggled during his second campaign in the NFL. He threw more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six), only completed 54.5 percent of his passes, and only threw for 1,688 passing yards.
“I don’t know if anyone is a Star Wars fan here but they freeze Han Solo at some point Josina. He is frozen in carbonite like this [Costello demonstrates and poses to show how Solo looked in the movie]. That’s how I think the Jets want Zach Wilson to be, frozen for a while and not to see him on the field.”
Josina argued that if you aren’t going to move on from Wilson then you should make him the third-string quarterback.
“What are you gonna do, make him the third-string quarterback? Then I think his confidence is gone forever,” Costello explained. “Like you’re telling him that we don’t trust you to be the backup at this point [two years after taking him No. 2 overall].”
Anderson argued that sometimes it is better to rip the band-aid off.
Costello quickly responded that the cap implications from moving on this offseason are “crazy.”
“He’s going to cost you more by cutting him than keeping him on the roster. He has no trade value. [If you make him the third string] he is never coming back from that. They’re rolling the dice but don’t underestimate that this is still the regime that took him,” Costello continued during his appearance on The Crew. “Just totally saying he’s done [means that] Joe Douglas has to admit that he screwed up the No. 2 pick. Which I think is pretty clear that he has. I think it’s tough for these GMs to admit when they’re wrong and just casting Zach Wilson off into the night would be that admission.”