Getty Image / Al Pereira
The New York Jets are going through a quarterback change after head coach Robert Saleh benched Zach Wilson. It’s been a wild season for this team, as they have some serious problems under center while maintaining a winning record. However, now that Mike White is taking over the starting role, more information comes out about Wilson’s situation.
According to Ian Rapoport and Sports Illustrated, Zach Wilson apparently has been dealing with “the yips” since the offseason. For anyone not familiar with that term. It’s when an athlete forgets the basics for whatever reason. The most recent example is when Simone Biles backed out of the Olympics.
Ian Rapoport states that Zach Wilson was “struggling to make simple basic throws and they were trying to figure out what was wrong. Was it his mechanics? Was it in his mind? Why are these simple throws just not able to be made?”
Between reportedly having the yips, along with questionable leadership skills, this could be a troubling issue for Zach Wilson. It can take years for an athlete to overcome the yips. Olympic Gold-Medalist Shaun White admitted to having the yips for a specific trick and it took him years to finally overcome it.
What’s troubling, is some athletes never overcome the yips.
We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out. If Zach Wilson does in fact have the yips, then that explains why so many of his passes are off-point. Look for the Jets to do everything they can off the field to help their young quarterback.