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Following reports that the New York Jets’ locker room was “ready to implode” due to head coach Robert Saleh’s commitment to Zach Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback, Saleh changed his tune a bit in regards to the third-year signal caller.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Jets’ Sunday Night Football matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs — which will reportedly be attended by Taylor Swift — Saleh admitted that Wilson, completing just 53% of his passes so far this season, needs to play better.
“We all acknowledge he has to play better. We all acknowledge that. He acknowledges it, teammates acknowledge it, he acknowledges it himself, but the key is to have confidence in yourself. You have to,” Saleh said.
He also addressed a report from Jets beat reporter Rich Cimini that claimed the locker room is “ready to implode” due to his commitment to Wilson as the starter, which some within the organization, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, feel is making him come off as a “Wilson apologist.”
“We’ve got a great locker room. [The] locker room is locked in. Is there frustration? Of course, there is,” Saleh said. “Any time you lose two in a row there’s going to be frustration. It’s the NFL. When you lose, it feels like the world is caving in, when you win, everyone puts you on a pedestal, but there’s still a lot of confidence in the locker room.”
Heading into their Sunday Night Football game against the Chiefs, their first on the NBC-broadcasted program since 2012, the Jets find themselves as 9.5-point underdogs and on the verge of complete disarray.
Since losing Aaron Rodgers — who was meant to be the savior of the franchise — to an Achilles tear after just four plays into his Jets career, the team has put up just 20 total points in the following two games.