Why it’s time for Zach Wilson to be the Jets’ starting quarterback again

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Robert Saleh was convinced from the beginning that eventually the resolution to the Jets’ quarterback situation was “going to happen organically.” He never seemed to think he’d face a tough choice between the upstart in Mike White and the franchise quarterback in Zach Wilson. He believed that at some point the answer would be obvious.

And so it is.

Unless Wilson is still hurt and unless the doctors say that sending him out there with a sprained PCL in his knee would be too much of a risk, then Saleh’s decision is as clear as it’s ever going to be. He needs to make Wilson his starter again, beginning next Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

And then he needs to leave him on the field for the rest of the season, for better or for worse, no matter what.

It is the only choice in a season that is now clearly lost after the Jets fell to 2-7 with a thud – a 45-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Their defense is a train wreck, having given up at least 45 points and 489 yards in three of the last four games. They’re going to be lucky to even be competitive over the final eight games if they keep playing like that.

Which means the rest of this season now is not at all about wins, but solely about the thing that this entire season was supposed to be about from the beginning: Developing the franchise quarterback, getting Wilson as much experience as he needs, so when next year starts he might actually look like the savior they expect him to be.

For what it’s worth, Saleh was non-committal about that in the moments after this disaster of a game, in which White’s bubble burst with a four-interception pop. Saleh wouldn’t even criticize White after the game, saying only “Give those guys credit. They’re the No. 1 defense in football (and) a championship-caliber football team.”

Story continues

Yes they are, and it’s incredibly unfair to judge White on his 24-for-44, 251-yard,…