After being drafted by the New York Jets as the 2nd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Zach Wilson failed to live up to the high expectations and eventually, lost the starting position to the second and third-string quarterbacks. Following the trade of Aaron Rodgers to the Jets, the path to appearing as New York’s QB1 could get even more complicated for him.
The former Green Bay Packers star Aaron also played a few seasons behind Brett Favre before becoming the Packers QB1 for 18 years and probably has experienced somewhat similar challenges that Zach is going through. Thus the 39-year-old veteran had words of advice for his fellow QB.
Aaron Rodgers sees positivity in Zach Wilson’s bench role
Following Gang Green’s offseason workout, A-Rod was asked about the improvement he witnessed in Zach since last season. The four-time MVP said the youngster is hopefully going to enjoy this off-time, rebuild himself, and bounce back from last year’s poor performance.
“I hope this time for him is like a deep inhale and exhale and he can really take a breath and pause and deal with the disappointment of last year and the frustration, and then channel it. I feel like he has, just re-channel it as a positive and focus on the opportunity in front of him to learn with a guy who loves him and cares about him and wants him to be great and wants him to do incredible things every day and be better.”
The veteran Rodgers was rumored to retire after playing one season in the Big Apple, though he denied the rumor and even restructured his deal to display his commitment to the team. Whether Rodgers retires soon or continues for a long time, Zach could have the opportunity to lead the Jets following his departure. The signal-caller might be projecting him for the role following his performance in the training camp,
“He has played really, really well in camp. He’s made a number of great throws. He looks confident. His fundamentals are improving. He’s throwing the ball on time.. . . . I think he’ll look back years from now and be really thankful for this time to grow, to reset, to take a breath, and it’s gonna set him up for a nice long career in the league.”
How much is Zach Wilson’s Jets contract?
The Jets and Wilson agreed to a whopping four-year, $35,150,681 contract including a $22,924,132 signing bonus back in 2021. According to sources, Wilson was set to earn $2,257,758 in 2022. and would possess a cap hit of $7,988,791 along with a dead cap value of $28,759,647. The franchise posted a picture of him following the massive deal captioned,” Let the fun begin.”
Let the fun begin. pic.twitter.com/EyAFQFxla7
— New York Jets (@nyjets) July 29, 2021
However, the fun never really began as the 24-year-old had to be in and out of the squad rather frequently due to his injuries and poor play. Earlier ESPN released an article highlighting the extent to which each new signal-caller outperformed their contract value but unfortunately, the ‘2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year’ was the only rookie quarterback who miserably failed to provide surplus value over his compensation in 2022.
zach wilson being the only quarterback not to provide surplus value this season on a rookie deal shows how hard it is to not get positive value out of a rookie contract quarterbackhttps://t.co/iilPyJiOih pic.twitter.com/RGa7CJAhvl
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) February 6, 2023
With a new season approaching fast, Wilson is expected to rebuild himself and shake off last year’s disappointment. Although he most likely wouldn’t get the chance to be a starter in the presence of Aaron, he could try and use this chance to improve his athleticism to become a potential long-time starter following the 10-time Pro-Bowler retirement.
Do you think that Zach would be able to make such a comeback? Let us know your thoughts below!
