The New York Jets lived every team’s worst nightmare this preseason when their young star quarterback suffered a non-contact knee injury while scrambling during a preseason game.
When Zach Wilson hobbled off the field, Jets fans and the organization held their breath, and while the ultimate diagnosis was better than the feared worst case outcome, Wilson still had to have arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear. The initial timetable given was for Wilson to miss 2-4 weeks, and after he did some running early this week, there was some hope he might be on the field sooner than later. However, with the Baltimore Ravens lurking on Sunday for their Week 1 game, Jets coach Robert Saleh confirmed the team would be starting veteran (and former Raven) Joe Flacco in the opener while also noting that Wilson will sit out the first three weeks of the season, with the team targeting their Week 4 matchup with Pittsburgh for his return.
Coach Saleh says that likely the earliest QB Zach Wilson will be available is Week 4 at Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/3buMD5xqTb
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 7, 2022
With the Jets opening their season with four straight games against AFC North foes — Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh — they’ll let the veteran Flacco get them going early against the presumed three tougher teams, and hope to get Wilson back closer to 100 percent before putting him back on the field. While Wilson hasn’t suffered any setbacks, the Jets will play it as safe as possible with the young man they hope can be their franchise quarterback and it’s hard to blame them.