The Jets are right back to where they were just two weeks ago, on the heels of another disappointing offensive performance that included yet another quarterback benching. This time, it was Tim Boyle being replaced by Trevor Siemian during New York’s 13-8 Week 13 loss.
Head coach Robert Saleh didn’t give any sense after the game of which quarterback will start Week 14 against the Houston Texans. The easy answer may be Siemian as simply the next in line. But there is another consideration for Saleh: the first quarterback he benched this season.
Believe it or not, it can’t be ruled out yet that Saleh decides to go back to Zach Wilson just a few weeks after he was replaced by Boyle during Week 11’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
I get the sense the #Jets are considering playing Zach Wilson again this season.
The plan was to sit him the rest of the way — but the QB play has gotten worse without him.
Wouldn’t be surprising if Wilson started or was No. 2 this week.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) December 4, 2023
The reason is that the Jets simply don’t have options at this point. New York was hoping for a spark with a quarterback change. The offense somehow got worse during Boyle’s two starts. Boyle is missing wide open receivers and led just one touchdown drive in two games. Boyle went 14/25 for 148 yards with an interception and was sacked once. He was benched after the interception.
Siemian didn’t fare much better when he replaced Boyle in the fourth quarter against the Falcons, going 5/13 for 66 yards and was sacked three times.
So where does that leave the Jets? Maybe Wilson is the best option going forward. At the very least, he may be the No. 2 quarterback against the Texans behind Siemian. The Jets have seen a variety of highs and lows (mostly lows) from Wilson, but those times when Wilson actually clicks, the offense can look somewhat sustainable. Wilson outplayed Patrick Mahomes in New York’s near upset of the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 before a costly fumble ended their hopes.
The offense as a whole is broken. That’s been known for weeks. Injuries depleted the roster, especially up front. The Jets started their ninth different offensive line combination Sunday (Mekhi Becton, Laken Tomlinson, Joe Tippmann, Wes Schweitzer, Carter Warren). That will take a toll on any offense. But it’s also hard to say now that Wilson was the entire reason the offense struggled in the first half of the season.
At this point, Saleh might as well consider Wilson for the homestretch. The Jets have to make a decision, one they’ll likely decline, on his fifth-year option this offseason — picking up the option would guarantee Wilson over $20 million in 2025 — and the more film on Wilson, the better. New York can’t go back to Boyle at this point and Siemian isn’t going to give that much more.
This is another reason why the Jets’ lack of an emergency plan behind Aaron Rodgers both in the offseason and after the injury — Ryan Tannehill and Kirk Cousins, pre-Achilles injury, could have been had at the trade deadline — have helped lead to another wasted season. Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas likely get one more run in 2024 thanks to a returning Aaron Rodgers, but their seats will be white-hot all year.
At the very least, they’ll want the quarterback that gives them them the best chance to win. Right now, that may be Zach Wilson.