When Zach Wilson is inserted back into the starting lineup as the New York Jets quarterback this weekend, he plans to “rip it.”
At this point, why not? The third-year quarterback out of BYU has little to lose by stepping back under center and just playing loose.
That’s exactly what NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah conveyed.
At this point, what do you have to lose? #Jets pic.twitter.com/sY8ZZQRQzo
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) December 8, 2023
“I’m looking at some of the stuff for this game, and one of the notes is, this is going to be their 10th offensive line combination in 13 games this year for the Jets,” Jeremiah said on The Insiders (NFL+) Friday. “And when you’ve watched Zach Wilson, this latest version of him, it’s a don’t screw up way of coaching and having him play the position. He’s playing with no confidence. He hasn’t played like himself.
“If I’m the Jets — and maybe this sounds corny to you — but I’m telling you, I would do this. I would put a BYU helmet in his locker and say, ‘Forget all this. Don’t make mistakes. Forget we have a great defense, don’t screw it up, Zach. Put your BYU helmet on this week. Go out there, cut it loose, play aggressive, and have fun. If you make mistakes, if you turn it over, who cares? But we’ve proven we can’t win games by scoring 6-or-7 points, so we were hoping you could make some plays. So, go back to being college Zach Wilson. Let’s see how it works out.”
It’s worth noting that there was speculation that Jeremiah would join the New York Jets front office due to his long-standing relationship with the Jets’ general manager, Joe Douglas. The two worked together in the Baltimore Ravens scouting department from 2003 to 2007.
That’s not to say that Jeremiah is Douglas’ mouthpiece in the media. By all accounts, that’s a far leap to take. At the same time, he probably better understands how Douglas and his team operate than most, making his opinion of Wilson much more intriguing.
