Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson running through a play during the preseason.
After a very long night of Twitter doctors diagnosing the worst possible scenarios, we finally got clarity on Saturday, August 13.
Brian Costello of the New York Post revealed the news on social media first and Adam Schefter of ESPN confirmed it. New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson suffered a “bone bruise” and a “meniscus tear.”
Jets’ QB Zach Wilson has a bone bruise and a meniscus tear and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, as @BrianCoz also reported. Wilson will undergo arthroscopic surgery to address and correct the injury. Jets consider it fortunate news.
He will undergo surgery at some point to correct the issue and is only expected to miss between two and four weeks of action.
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A Bullet Dodged
There were a lot of credible people on social media moments after Wilson got hurt that told fans to fear the worst.
When a quarterback goes down awkwardly on a non-contact play and holds his knee, what are you supposed to think?
Pair that with the long history of snakebitten injuries and things seemed destined for another horrible turn. Yet they received the best possible news on Saturday morning they could have hoped for.
The season opener is set for Sunday, September 11 at home against the Baltimore Ravens. That is about four weeks away so this could be tight.
While the hope is he will be ready for that game, even if he isn’t, this is still a major bullet dodged for this organization.
All of their hopes and dreams for this season remain intact as long as Wilson is healthy.
A Valuable Lesson Learned
This feels like one of those scenarios where a parent loses their kid in the grocery store. At first panic sets in as they start screaming their child’s name in a desperate search to find them.
After an uncomfortable amount of time, the two are finally rejoined and they embrace with a hug. Then after the parent realizes that the kid is safe, their emotions change from thankfulness to anger, “never do that to me again Johnny!”
This is how I imagine the Jets coaching staff is feeling this morning. They were hoping and praying that Wilson would be okay and with this news he certainly is. Now they will tell him to never do something stupid like that in a game ever again.
Zach Wilson comes up limping after an awkward cut while scrambling. #Jets
This was the second Jets drive of a meaningless preseason game. Once Wilson escaped the initial pressure he should have walked right out of bounds at the 42-yard line.
The risk doesn’t outweigh the reward of gaining a couple of yards versus his safety.
After the game head coach Robert Saleh was adamant that Wilson should have “100 percent” slid and after watching the replay it’s hard to argue with that.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh says QB Zach Wilson should’ve “100 percent” gone out of bounds on the play he ended up getting hurt on by juking back into the middle of the field. #NYJvsPHI #TakeFlight
Wilson has to realize he is the quarterback. He is more important to this team than any other player. Football is a violent sport and people get hurt all the time, don’t add to it by inviting contact.
A lot of people have talked about Wilson taking the next step in his development. This is part of that process that no one talks about.
In every play, he has to weigh risk versus reward. Should I just take this wide-open drag or do I push the envelope and throw it deep where I think I can squeeze in the ball?
Or in the preseason example, I can simply get this back to the line of scrimmage and survive to see another play. Or I can make something out of nothing here for my team.
It is great news for the Jets organization that Wilson wasn’t seriously hurt here, but if they have any realistic hopes of winning games this year then their quarterback has to be a lot smarter with his decision-making moving forward.
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