New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh has been hesitant all offseason to add any more bodies to his quarterback room.
Apparently, his tune has changed, despite what he said at Wednesday’s presser.
“To give up on those guys (Mike White, James Morgan) to sign a pacifier (veteran quarterback) I think that can be seen as a cop-out. It’s a lot harder than just to say bringing in a veteran quarterback will make everything better.”
As they often say in the business, actions speak louder than words.
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Jets and Zach Wilson Involved in Staring Contest
No. 2 overall pick, Zach Wilson, is the only remaining unsigned first-rounder from the 2021 NFL draft.
Apparently, the snag in negotiations revolves around the “offset language” in the contract. To make matters worse, apparently, the Jets are “unlikely to budge” on their stance, per Ralph Vacchiano.
The reason being, they don’t want to set a precedent that could open the door for future players to also request no offset language in their contract. The Jets “have never given out a contract without offset language”, per SNY.
While obviously Wilson and his representation don’t appear to be in the budging mood, because if they were, he would have already been in camp.
This awkward staredown doesn’t appear to have any ending in sight.
The silver lining is all it takes to hammer out a deal is a compromise somewhere in the middle and Wilson can jump on a private jet and jump right back into practice.
Although it’s worth noting, that how this has gotten this far is ridiculous, they’ve had three months to talk and figure this out. At some point, cooler heads have to prevail and get this done.
In Football You Have to Adapt or Die
#Jets fans looking for Zach Wilson (@zachkapono1) at #JetsCamp:
Isaac Newton’s third law states: that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Utilizing that theory on the current depth chart for the Jets quarterback room: no Wilson means the front office is forced to add another arm to the rotation.
Regardless of when Wilson inevitably shows up to training camp, the green and white still need a veteran presence at the games’ most important position. That’s especially true while the former BYU passer is absent.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Jets scheduled a pair of workouts with quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Sean Mannion.
Johnson has been floating around the NFL since 2008 and most recently was with the San Francisco 49ers (2020-21). The familiarity with the scheme would make him a very attractive option for the green and white.
Mannion on the other hand is far less experienced than Johnson. He has played in only 13 career games and has started two of them (0-2 record).
The longtime NFL veteran did have a stint back with the Jets in 2015 and wouldn’t be a bad addition for the team. Although there’s another player that was recently released that Gang Green should do some homework on.
With Aaron Rodgers returning to the Green Bay Packers the team released veteran quarterback Blake Bortles.
While he initially may not sound like an ideal option, the deeper you dig, the more it makes sense.
The 29-year-old passer has played in over 78 career contests, appeared in an AFC Championship game, and is intimately familiar with the offense having most recently spent time with the Packers (who run the same scheme as the Jets).
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Jets ‘Unlikely to Budge’ on Zach Wilson Contract, Opens Veteran QB Door