The patience finally ran out in Gotham. Following another subpar outing, HC Robert Saleh benched Zach Wilson in favor of Tim Boyle. He didn’t fare much better, but this means the New York Jets have finally given up on their former No. 2 pick.
Wilson showed glimpses of improved play while subbing in for Aaron Rodgers, but he’s clearly not a starting-caliber player, at least not at this point in his development. The Jets simply cannot afford to wait for him any longer.
Needless to say, Boyle isn’t exactly Patrick Mahomes either, but the team needed to make a change and find a spark for the remainder of the season, especially if they want to hold down the fort for Aaron Rodgers.
Boyle Wants To Play Fast
Boyle’s numbers weren’t exactly impressive, but he did give the offense a more dynamic player. His ability to get rid of the football in no time gave the offensive line a breather, and that could be key to their success going forward.
Tim Boyle of the New York Jets.
“Decisiveness is a part of my game that I lean on, just trying to get the ball out, not forcing things in coverage,” Boyle said. “There’s a part of the game where taking a sack is better than trying to jam it into coverage and throwing an interception, so I think I bring — I just get the ball out quick. It takes a lot of heat off the O-line. It gets our playmakers the ball in space. We have some guys that can make some people miss.”
Rodgers Has No Incentive To Come Back
Nonetheless, Boyle’s appointment could also mean that Rodgers won’t come back at all this season. According to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, the chances of him coming back to a team with no postseason aspirations are quite slim:
“Fox’s Jay Glazer reported Sunday that Rodgers wants to return to practice in early December and was targeting a return to the field a few weeks later,” reported Rosenblatt. “Rodgers has said in the past he’d only consider this if the Jets were contending for the playoffs. Right now, it seems unlikely the Jets will have a shot at anything meaningful by the time Rodgers would theoretically be ready to return — if that were actually possible, anyway.”
More than that, the entire offense hasn’t played up to their level, which is why Rodgers might want to reconsider his plan of coming back early, as that offensive line won’t be able to protect him at all.
“And why would Rodgers want to return to this group anyway? Left tackle Mekhi Becton suffered an ankle injury Sunday and if he’s out Friday, the Jets will be deploying their eighth starting offensive line group in 11 weeks,” Rosenblatt continued. “Against the Bills, they started Chris Glaser at right guard and Carter Warren filled in for Becton. Neither had played significant NFL snaps before that. A 40-year-old Rodgers coming off surgery won’t be safe behind that group, even if he’s getting rid of the ball quickly and making adjustments at the line.”
see also
NFL News: Aaron Rodgers could reunite with a star wide receiver in 2024
At the end of the day, it seems like there are more questions than answers regarding this subject, and while we would all love to see Rodgers make history with the fastest return in NFL history, that doesn’t seem likely at this point.
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