Going into Week 10 against the Bills, the Jets are healthier on offense.
Zach Wilson will practice this week and should be a full participant according to Robert Saleh. Wilson suffered a sprained PCL in the second quarter of the Patriots game.
Mike White injured his forearm during the first quarter of the Colts TNF matchup and missed the rest of the game. But White is healthy for this week.
Now the Jets may have two capable starters to choose from. If Wilson passes all of the physical tests during practice and is fully healthy, he will start.
But not so fast. Saleh isn’t going to expedite his return.
“If he’s not fully healthy, it’ll be irresponsible for us to throw him out there,” Saleh said on Monday. “We’ll see how it looks. But we’re not in any hurry to rush him back at the same point because of the fact that this is a two to four week injury. He’s going to week three and there’s a couple of things and a couple of hurdles he has to pass.”
That sounds like Saleh is leaning towards playing White, who played admirably in Wilson’s absence.
He threw for 702 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 72% of his passes. White set the football world on fire when he tossed 405 yards with three touchdowns as the Jets upset the Bengals in Week 8.
This affords the Jets the ability to be patient with Wilson’s recovery, as they can still be competitive with White. There’s an argument that White is the better quarterback right now.
White has five touchdowns with four interceptions with a passer rating of 96 in eight quarters. Wilson has four touchdowns and nine interceptions with a passer rating of 63.
The Jets will decide on Wednesday who they will start against the Bills. Based on Saleh’s energy on Monday, unless something dramatically changes, it’ll probably be White.
And that’s the best case scenario for Wilson.
This week, the Jets play the AFC East leaders in the Bills. The Bills lost to the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars in a 9-6 snoozefest. But the Bills’ defense is excellent. They’re first in yards allowed per game (262.6), points (14.8), and passing yards allowed (177).
So playing Wilson against that defense while he isn’t 100% is a dangerous proposition. That could create a toxic environment as Wilson could struggle and face boos and calls for White from fans.
It’s not impossible: They booed Wilson in his first home appearance against the Patriots when he threw four interceptions. And they chanted “Mike White” after his backup’s 405 yard performance against the Bengals. Jets fans are hungry for a franchise quarterback and some don’t care how it comes.
And Wilson could also reinjure himself if he returns too early.
So let the No. 2 overall pick sit until he’s fully healthy. But when he’s ready, it’s time to go.
OTHER OFFENSIVE INJURY UPDATES
The Jets’ No. 1 receiver in Corey Davis is cleared to practice this week after missing the last two games with a hip injury.
Davis leads the team in receiving yards (349) and touchdowns (four). His absence allowed for more targets for Elijah Moore, who’s taken advantage. Moore had 151 yards with two touchdowns against the Bengals and Colts.
Saleh doesn’t feel Davis will affect Moore’s targets because they play two different positions.
“Really excited for Corey to get back in because I do feel like the offense is starting to hum a little bit,” Saleh said of his offense that scored 64 points and put up 997 yards in the last two games. “It’s been pretty cool to see the offense move. And it’d be really good to get him back into the mix to this to the speed at which we’re operating, to see if we can get even better as the year progresses.”
Tevin Coleman has been dealing with a hamstring injury but is expected to practice. Coleman is the team’s third-leading rusher with 79 yards. Michael Carter and Ty Johnson have performed well in his absence.
