Zach Wilson’s latest stint as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback is coming to an end.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the Jets plan to start Tim Boyle at quarterback on Black Friday, when the team takes on the Miami Dolphins.
“The Jets stood by Zach Wilson as long as they could. But after Sunday, they couldn’t any longer. Now, it’s on Tim Boyle to hold it down until Aaron Rodgers returns,” Rapoport said on X, the site formerly called Twitter.
Later on Monday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed the news during a press conference.
“It’s really just to give (Boyle) an opportunity to see if we can do something with the offense,” he said.
Boyle finished Sunday’s game for the Jets after Wilson was benched late in the third quarter, as the Deseret News previously reported. Before exiting the action, Wilson had completed 7 of 15 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
In just over one quarter of play, Boyle went 7 of 14 for 33 yards and one interception.
The Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills 32-6 and fell to 4-6.
Tony Romo, who worked the Jets-Bills game for CBS, noted during the broadcast that the offense’s continuing struggles in the fourth quarter showed that quarterback play is not the root of the Jets’ issues. He pointed to inexperience along the offensive line as a key source of both Wilson and Boyle’s woes.
His comments echoed remarks made by Saleh earlier this month when asked why the team had not yet benched Wilson.
“If it was just (Wilson), it would be something that would be worth discussing, but this is a collective issue that we all need to get on the same page with. Whether it’s dropped balls, players being where they’re supposed to be, executing the way we need to execute, calling plays that need to be called, putting players in the positions they need to be put into — that’s all of us,” Saleh told reporters on Nov. 7, as the Deseret News previously reported.
After Sunday’s loss to the Bills, Saleh said he had not yet decided who would start this week.
But while meeting with reporters on Monday, Saleh not only confirmed that Wilson would remain on the bench, but also said quarterback Trevor Siemian will serve as Boyle’s “immediate backup.”
Wilson will be active for the game, but he’ll be considered the third option out of three.
The quarterback shake-up comes as the Jets await the highly anticipated return of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tore his Achilles in the first game of the season.
Rodgers will reportedly rejoin the team this week and start practicing in early December, according to CBS Sports.