The New York Jets haven’t had the season they thought they’d have. Losing Aaron Rodgers just four plays into the season changed their plans. They went from Super Bowl contenders to playoff hopefuls, and it all hung on Zach Wilson’s shoulders.
With the Jets’ decision to stick with Wilson and not trade for a veteran, the former No. 2 pick got another chance to prove his worth in the league. He showed glimpses of improvement under Nathaniel Hackett, but the team’s offensive struggles led to his benching.
With that in mind, Rodgers admitted that he blames himself for his situation. Per the veteran QB, Wilson would’ve never been put in that position if it wasn’t for his injury:
“This was obviously not the way any of us thought it was going to go down. It was going to be me and my show, and Zach getting to learn and watch it firsthand and not having the pressure to go out there and play,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show.
New York Jets star Aaron Rodgers watching a game from the sidelines.
Rodgers Feels ‘Personal Guilt’
Rodgers stated that the team would’ve fared much better with him at the helm, which is pretty obvious. But the thing he laments the most is that the narrative around Wilson and his career would be entirely different, as he would’ve had a chance to learn from the sidelines instead of being thrown into the fire:
“Obviously, this is disappointing. I have some personal guilt around the whole thing. I’m pissed I wasn’t able to play and frustrated,” Rodgers admitted. “If I was out there, I’d feel like we were playing well. There would obviously be different narratives about our team and Zach would have the opportunity to learn and grow and see what it looks like without the pressure on and being able to sit in those meetings and go through the season and just watch me and my process. So, I’m disappointed and sad about that.”
Rodgers Still Believes In Wilson
There’s little to no chance that Wilson will be on the team next season. They’ve given him way too many opportunities, and he’ll have to pursue a new challenge somewhere else. Rodgers, however, still has faith in him:
Zach Wilson in
“We need a spark. And I feel for Zach. I love Zach. Zach is a great kid. And I do feel like he does have a bright future in this league,” said Rodgers. “This has been a tough go for him and all of us. A lot of times in these situations, there are certain guys they have to scapegoat. And I think there’s enough blame to go around at a number of different positions. If you have 10 guys doing right on a play, and one guy not, it’s hard to be efficient.”
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Jets" benching Zach Wilson is terrible news for Aaron Rodgers
Wilson is quite young, and he could still blossom somewhere else; we’ve seen that happen. But it’ll be interesting to see who’s willing to give him another chance after the way he’s fared in the Big Apple over the past couple of years.
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