Getty New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson warming up during practice in training camp.
New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson has been on the shelf since suffering an ankle injury in practice on July 27.
However he could soon be making his return to the practice field.
“We are expecting him back Tuesday when we get to Carolina, he’s doing really well,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said on Saturday August 5. “I know we’ll have him back in a limited fashion on Tuesday.”
New York will travel for a pair of joint practices with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday August 9 and Thursday August 10.
Andy Vasquez of NJ Advance Media said Wilson is expected to fully participate in both of those practices.
Saleh expects WR Garrett Wilson (ankle) to make a limited return to practice on Tuesday and fully participate in joint practices against the Panthers on Wednesday and Thursday. #Jets
Jets Have Luxury of Being Patient With Wilson
Wilson may not be participating in practice with his teammates, but he has been working off to the side.
Robby Sabo of Jets X-Factor shared a 35 second clip of Wilson running routes against air and catching passes on his own.
The #Jets dudes on the mend, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, in the rehab area.
Even after practice Wilson was getting some extra work in catching passes from the ball machine and also interacting with some fans who were walking by as captured by Dan Leberfeld.
The Jets got a head start on training camp because of its participation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game on Thursday August 3. Gang Green reported a full week earlier than 30 of the 32 NFL franchises.
That provided plenty of opportunity for Wilson to build a budding chemistry with superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
However, this time away has put that on pause and the sooner Wilson can return to the football field the better that connection will grow as we approach the 2023 regular season.
Wilson Has a Chance to Reach New Heights in 2023 With the Jets
The NFL’s annual top-100 list has been slowly revealed over the last handful of weeks and Wilson made an appearance at No. 74. This is a list voted on by the players.
Garrett Wilson in at #74 on the NFL Top 100 list, as voted on by the player
Wilson overcame long odds considering his quarterback situation with the Jets in 2022 which forced him to play with four different passers. Despite that, Wilson still became the first rookie in Jets history to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Last year Wilson caught 83 receptions for 1,103 yards and caught four touchdowns. I had ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler on “The Boy Green Show” and asked him how much better can the Ohio State product get in 2023?
“It really depends on his chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, which sounds like it’s already good,” Fowler told me. “When Rodgers finds a guy he likes and trusts, he is going to feed him the ball. [Rodgers] has shown that over time. So if that’s the case the target share is going to be top 10 to 12 in the league which would inheritably give him numbers.”
Fowler told me Wilson placed No. 11 on his annual ESPN top-10 wide receiver rankings that are voted on by a panel of league execs, coaches, players, and scouts. He said he would be “shocked” if he wasn’t featured inside the top-10 when the next list comes out in 2024.
I asked Fowler statistically what could that look like in 2023 for Wilson?
“Now he has a quarterback so I’ll go 1,400,” Fowler said. He then compared him to Justin Jefferson and said you can see a little bit of that in him when you watch him on tape.