Will Zach be back?
The Jets expect to have starting quarterback Zach Wilson back in the lineup this week to face the Steelers, but as of Monday afternoon, coach Robert Saleh was still waiting to hear that Wilson had been fully cleared to return from his Aug. 16 knee surgery.
“We’re looking for confirmation,” Saleh said. “Once Zach’s doctors clear him, like we talked about, he’ll be ready to roll. But I can’t really define that until we get clearance from them.”
Saleh said he expects to hear something by the end of Tuesday about whether Wilson can return. It would be a surprise if he is not cleared. The Jets have been pointing to this matchup against the Steelers as when they expected to have Wilson back for weeks, and they fully expect him to be their quarterback Sunday.
The Jets need him, but the question is how much he can fix what ails the team.
The offense was brutal in the 27-12 loss to the Bengals on Sunday, failing to score a touchdown and turning the ball over four times. It was backup quarterback Joe Flacco specifically who turned it over four times with two interceptions and two fumbles. Flacco did not play well, but you could not pin all the offensive struggles on him. He did not have much time to operate, getting sacked four times and hit nine times. There were more drops and receivers failing to get open.
Linebacker C.J. Mosley said Wilson’s return could provide a spark for the Jets, but it won’t matter if they don’t play better all around.
“I think it would bring some motivation,” Mosley said. “We know Zach’s ready to get out there. He’s been ready this whole offseason. It was unfortunate with the injury and all. It doesn’t really matter who’s at that spot. We have to execute regardless. We could have the best quarterback in the world, the worst quarterback in the world, anywhere in between, if we’re not executing as a team, it won’t matter.”
Wilson injured his knee on the second series of the first preseason game in Philadelphia on Aug. 12 when he scrambled and his knee buckled as he made a cut inside. He tore his meniscus and suffered a bone bruise in his right knee. He had surgery to repair the meniscus, and only rest can heal the bone bruise. Wilson missed the rest of training camp and the preseason games.
Wilson returned to practice two weeks ago on a limited basis. He has been doing positional drills and some 7-on-7 drills. The Jets do something called “Flight School” at the end of practice for players on the practice squad or the third team, who don’t get many reps in practice. Wilson has been participating in that.
“He’s been doing those 7-on-7 periods with all those guys and still getting the reps and working through dropbacks and all the progressions and all the different things that we ask him to do,” Saleh said.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. ElAttrache is the one who now has to clear Wilson, but Wilson does not need to return to Los Angeles to see him again.
“They’ve been keeping tabs with regards to his progress and his day-to-day activity,” Saleh said. “There’s been a lot of detail on his day-to-day activity. It’s just more communication than anything, I think.”
The offense does not change completely going from Flacco to Wilson, but there are obviously things Wilson can do that Flacco can’t with his mobility. You wonder, though, if the Jets will be cautious at first to see how Wilson’s knee responds before having him run too much. Saleh said they can start game-planning for the Steelers before knowing Wilson’s status with any certainty.
“You’ve got your base game plan and how you do things,” Saleh said. “Then, you make start adding based on players and all that stuff. There’s plenty of time from a game-planning standpoint to do what we need to do to get ready for Pittsburgh.”