New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers feels some guilt over seeing Zach Wilson get benched by the team earlier this week.
Following an ugly loss 32-6 road loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, head coach Robert Saleh announced that Tim Boyle would start in Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins. Journeyman Trevor Siemian was signed to the active roster, and Wilson was demoted to third-stringer duties.
During his latest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show”, Rodgers stated he has “personal guilt” about Wilson getting benched (h/t Karl Rasmussen of Sports Illustrated):
“I feel for Zach, I love Zach. Zach is such a great kid. And I do think he still has a bright future in the league. This has been a tough go for all of us. A lot of times in these situations, there’s certain guys they’ve got to scapegoat. I think there’s enough blame to go around at a number of different positions…
This was obviously not the way any of us thought this was going to go down. It was going to be me and my show and Zach getting to learn and watch it first hand, and not having the pressure to go out there and play. So, obviously this is disappointing and I have some personal guilt about the whole thing.”
The Jets’ new star quarterback is recovering from surgery on a torn Achilles that he suffered in Week 1 against the Bills. The 39-year-old Rodgers hopes to complete a rapid and miraculous recovery and return at some point this season.
Wilson was drafted second overall by the Jets in 2021 but struggled mightily over his first two years. Though Rodgers suffered a (likely) season-ending injury in Week 1, there was hope that Wilson would improve after learning from Rodgers throughout the offseason.
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But Wilson lost six of nine starts prior to his benching, completing just 59.2 percent of pass attempts for 1,944 yards and six touchdowns against seven interceptions.
Losers of three straight, the Jets will try to keep their rapidly shrinking postseason hopes alive against Miami this Friday. At this phase, New York likely has to go at least 6-1 over its final seven games to have any realistic hope of making the postseason.
