It’s not clear whether Zach Wilson’s progress is being measured in inches or feet, but the Jets do like what they’ve seen from the demoted quarterback since he has been playing with the scout team.
“Just getting confidence back throwing the ball,” quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese said, asked what improvements he has seen from Wilson. “Playing a bit more freely and not overthinking things. There’s multiple things that pop up during a practice, good and bad, that we need to work through and stay positive through the whole thing, which he has.”
When — or whether — Wilson will get the starting job back from Mike White is not clear, and likely depends as much on White’s play as on Wilson’s progress. Wilson, the former No. 2-overall pick, has some work to do on his technique and fundamentals, as head coach Robert Saleh admitted last week.
That still seems to be in progress.
“You can always fine-tune your technique,” Calabrese said. “It’s within a game and how to maneuver within a pocket and things that happen within a game, just to fine-tune that but also to have those experiences and those reps and know how to maneuver in the pocket. … It’s through experience.”
Wilson, who is working with the scout team, is taking part in what the Jets call “Flight School” — 15 minutes of extra reps after practice for the practice-squad players and other extras. There is no getting around that it has been a fall from grace for Wilson, but Calabrese and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur alike both made positive note of his attitude on Thursday.
“He’s handled it the best he can in terms of, he’s approaching it every single day to try and get better,” LaFleur said. “That’s something that we just gotta trust with our process with him.”
The Jets won’t be shadowing Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson with a cornerback, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said, though he left the door open to that strategy in the future.
“Sauce [Gardner] is excellent, obviously having a great year, but D.J. [Reed] is playing at an equally high level,” Ulbrich said. “And then even if he gets in the slot, we have a lot of trust in Michael Carter. So very confident with the guys we have.”
Offensive line coach John Benton said George Fant (knee) is “getting really close” to a return and taking a lot of reps in practice.
“You can just see him progress and progress,” Benton said. “I think he’s coming along great.”
Bills defensive end Von Miller was placed on injured reserve, meaning he will be out at least four weeks and miss the game against the Jets on Dec. 11.
