The Zach Wilson era in New York appears to have come to an abrupt end.
The third-year quarterback will be inactive in the Jets’ season finale Sunday at New England, since he has yet to clear concussion protocol since suffering a head injury on Dec. 17.
“Everyone responds differently to concussions,” New York head coach Robert Saleh told reporters Wednesday when revealing Wilson’s health status.
Wilson was visibly pained after being sacked four times against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 17, and left the contest in the second quarter. He’s been sidelined since.
Trevor Siemian will start in place of Wilson for the third straight week.
While Wilson still holds another year on his Jets contract, his continual struggles and multiple benchings in New York — along with Aaron Rodgers’ impending return from a torn Achilles — have made an offseason divorce between the two parties feel inevitable.
The Deseret News previously reported the Jets’ intentions to trade the former No. 2 overall draft selection following the current campaign.
“It’s all things that we’re gonna have to talk about once the season’s over,” Saleh said of Wilson’s future with the team. “I think he’s made tremendous improvements from a year ago. It’s just an unfortunate series of events that occurred.”
The BYU product was originally slated to spend 2023 backing up Rodgers and focusing on learning from the future Hall of Famer. But then he was thrust back into starting action four plays into the season upon Rodgers’ Achilles injury.
Wilson has since made 11 starts for New York, posting a career-best 77.2 passer rating with 2,271 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.
A fresh start should benefit Wilson, who was unable to live up to lofty expectations from a Jets organization that failed to give him the best possible situation to succeed.
In 34 career games with New York, Wilson passed for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns to 25 interceptions and a 73.2 rating. He was sacked 113 times, with the Jets finishing 12-21 in his starts.