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It has been a scary couple of hours for New York Jets fans.
A game that was supposed to be light and easy ended up being anything but. On the second drive of the Jets preseason, quarterback Zach Wilson went down on what appeared to be a non-contact injury.
Everyone assumed the worst, but after letting everything marinate we got an extremely encouraging update on his present and future.
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A Light at the End of the Tunnel
After the game head coach Robert Saleh provided “no update” on Wilson’s status. Instead, he reiterated that he wanted to wait to see the MRI results before saying anything publically.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said ‘no update’ on QB Zach Wilson + refused to reveal what his sense is on situation, ‘my sense has always been opposite, we’ll wait until tomorrow’ + ‘I have information in my head, I’m just going to leave it alone’: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #NYJvsPHI
However, a short while later NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY was able to spill some juicy details based on some sourced reporting.
The Jets believe “they have avoided” the doomsday scenario of a season-ending injury. Hughes says there is “genuine belief” that this will be an injury that costs him weeks, not the entire season.
Sources: #Jets believe they’ve avoided worst-case scenario with Zach Wilson’s knee. Genuine belief it’s not season-ending. MRI to confirm their feelings. The hope is that they are looking at weeks, not year. That is feeling as l leaving Philly.
Again: MRI final confirmation
Hughes got more specific on Twitter from what he has heard saying the best case scenario features Wilson only missing two to three weeks.
If that were to hold serve the former BYU passer could in theory still be ready for the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 11.
However, if the “worst case” scenario based on this new information were to unfold, Wilson would miss between four and six weeks, according to Hughes. In that case, the young quarterback could miss the start of the season.
Hughes went into full detail on his report during a late television hit on SNY with Jeane Coakley:
An update on Zach Wilson’s knee from @JeaneCoakley and me, via @SNYtv
Thank Heavens
After the bad news of Mekhi Becton being out for the season earlier this week, most people were once again bracing for more terrible news to come in.
This latest update however seems to suggest otherwise.
Dianna Russini of ESPN added to this report saying her sources suggest that this could be a “PCL injury” and could be just “a few weeks of recovery.”
While the Jets will wait for the MRI tomorrow to get more answers on Zach Wilson’s knee situation, sources share the early thought is it could be a PCL injury. More definitive answers coming but there’s hope among the team it could just be a few weeks of recovery.
Wilson strained his PCL last season and was forced to miss four weeks of action in the middle of 2021. Ultimately he came back from the injury better and stronger than ever finishing the season on a high note.
No injury is ever good news, but this is a far different dynamic than what it would’ve been if it was a season-ending injury.
Coach Saleh was effusive with his praise of veteran backup quarterback Joe Flacco saying in his mind, that he is still a starting quarterback.
It is a lot more feasible that Flacco could step in and hold the fort down for a few weeks to start the season versus carrying the torch for the entirety of the 2022 season.
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