Zach Wilson’s 2023 Future Could Mirror Former No. 1 Overall Pick: Insider

Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.

Many around the NFL community believe Zach Wilson and the New York Jets are headed for a split in 2023, although head coach Robert Saleh has been unwilling to give up on the prospect publicly.

Even after Wilson was preemptively inactivated on December 26 in favor of Mike White and Joe Flacco, Saleh stated once again that the Jets’ full intention is to develop the BYU product during the offseason and beyond. He also shut down a report from NFL on Fox insider Jay Glazer, which voiced that “the Jets have lost all confidence in Zach Wilson” and are expected to move on from him next spring.

Saleh called Glazer’s information “speculation,” but not everyone believes the Jets HC’s poker face heading toward the end of the regular season. ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler was the latest to tap his contacts in an attempt to try and get to the bottom of this bizarre situation, and he revealed everything he learned on it during a recent article with Dan Graziano — including a Baker Mayfield reference.

Jeremy Fowler Reveals Trade Rumblings on Jets’ Zach Wilson

“Jets coach Robert Saleh says Zach Wilson is still a part of the franchise’s future after the QB was benched a second time last week,” Fowler began. “Others around the league aren’t so sure, believing there’s no going back.”

Fowler then quoted a couple of his sources, relaying this from an unnamed NFL coordinator: “They have a major problem. His confidence is shot, and he’s not seeing it [on the field]. The New York fans are brutal. Maybe going somewhere else can help him get his confidence back up.”

An NFC executive agreed, comparing his situation to that of a recent No. 1 overall pick of the Cleveland Browns. “I think they do everything possible to trade him — but I think they wait until maybe even the preseason or into the regular season to get his value up,” the exec told Fowler. “There’s nothing right now that says a team wants the Zach Wilson experiment and will trade a draft pick for him. But it could be a Baker Mayfield-type situation [with the Rams] where a team has injuries at the position and needs a spot starter.”

Zach Wilson Trade Rumors Align With Baker Mayfield Arc

Wilson’s current predicament actually mirrors Mayfield’s in more ways than one. The Browns’ supposed “savior” fell out of favor with the Cleveland locker room, but that’s not to say he was a bad teammate.

Mayfield appeared to be well-liked in Carolina despite his production — head-butting offensive linemen as they came off the field — and he’s beloved in Los Angeles so far. The reason he quickly dropped out of style in Cleveland was his inconsistency on the field due to a personality that fed off confidence. Sound familiar?

Wilson was voted a team captain with the Jets twice during his first two seasons in the league. Teammates did not have to do that with him being a youngster, but they did anyway.

His best outings came as a rookie when his confidence was high, but as the tide turned in 2022, so did his ability which has regressed to a near-broken state.

Like Mayfield, any rumors that Wilson is universally hated by Jets teammates are unproven and somewhat ridiculous. A more likely assertion is that the NYJ roster has lost their belief in him as a starting quarterback, not their friendship with him as a person.

For the Browns first-rounder, it took two changes of scenery and a brilliant offensive mind to get him back on the right track — so that once again brings us to the question of whether or not Wilson’s career is salvageable in New York?

“The Jets are in a precarious spot,” Fowler concluded. “Giving up on a No. 2 overall pick after 22 career starts is bad business. Trading him for a late-round draft pick — assuming his value is not high — might be worse business. But it’s also hard to foresee the Jets going into 2023 with Wilson as the starter as it stands.”

At the very least, Wilson will probably have to battle for a quarterback role next summer — and I’m talking QB2 backup as well as a starting job. The Jets won’t trade him for pennies on the dollar, it’s not general manager Joe Douglas’ M.O., but Saleh won’t hinge his entire head coaching future on a total uncertainty either.

One thing’s for sure: The Jets are a quarterback away from serious Super Bowl contention and the entire franchise should stop at nothing to correct that deficiency in 2023.