Why did the Jets bench Zach Wilson? Robert Saleh explains QB needs ‘reset’ amid move to Mike White

The Jets are making a major change at the quarterback position.

The team officially announced on Wednesday that it would be benching Zach Wilson amid his recent struggles. Veteran Mike White will take over as the team’s starting quarterback.

Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, entered the 2022 NFL season expected to be New York’s starter. He had endured plenty of issues as a rookie, but the Jets were hopeful he would be able to take a leap forward in his second season.

He hasn’t done that yet; and while coach Robert Saleh isn’t giving up on Wilson, he is making a change in the hopes that the benching can be a “reset” of sorts for Wilson, as Saleh told reporters on Wednesday.

“Is it a small step back for him? Absolutely,” Saleh said. “But do I think it’s going to be a great leap forward when he does get a chance to reset himself? Absolutely.”

Why exactly is Saleh benching Wilson at this point in the season? Here’s what we know about the pivotal decision as the Jets look to push for a playoff spot while competing in the stacked AFC East.

MORE: ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky slams Zach Wilson for attitude after Jets loss vs. Patriots

Why did the Jets bench Zach Wilson?

There were a myriad of factors that went into the Jets’ decision to bench Zach Wilson, the most obvious of which was his on-field performance.

Wilson hasn’t performed well at all during the 2022 NFL season. In fact, his stats show that he has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL during the campaign.

Wilson’s biggest issue is that he has routinely struggled with his accuracy. He has the lowest completion percentage among qualified NFL quarterbacks this year (55.6 percent) and also hasn’t generated many big plays. He has been, at his best, a game manager who relied on his defense to carry him to a 5-2 record in his seven sacks.

But when Wilson was at his worst, the Jets’ offense could hardly move the ball. He often looked uncomfortable in the pocket and took untimely sacks, committed ill-time turnovers and generally struggled to get the ball to his receivers.

That’s part of how the Jets averaged just 2.7 inches per play in the second half of their 10-3 loss to the Patriots in Week 11. And that’s why Saleh believes sitting on the bench could help Wilson.

The biggest thing with Zach is that the young man needs a reset. His decision-making has been fine; his practice habits, all that stuff, have been fine; but there’s some basic, fundamental things that have gotten really out of whack for him.

This is an opportunity for him to really sit back, focus on those things, find a way to get reconnected to all those things we fell in love with during the draft process. It’s something I feel like he’s going to be able to do. I think asking him to do all those things while preparing for a game is unfair.

So, performance played a big part in the decision to bench Wilson. That said, his comments after that defeat against the Patriots may have been more damning for him. The second-year quarterback was asked if he felt like he had let his defense down in a game during which they allowed 10 total points, seven of which came as a result of a punt return touchdown by Marcus Jones.

“No,” Wilson said, without elaborating further.

That response earned Wilson plenty of criticism from pundits everywhere. It also appeared to drive a wedge between himself and his teammates, as reports leaked that Wilson was losing the locker room. Players like John Franklin-Myers liked tweets that seemed to disparage Wilson’s response to criticism of his game, and that made it an easy decision for Saleh to demote his quarterback.

Nonetheless, Saleh said that he didn’t believe Wilson had lost the locker room. Nor does he believe that Wilson’s benching is permanent.

“Zach’s career here is not over,” Saleh said. “I know that’s going to be the narrative. I know that’s what everybody wants to shout out. And that’s not even close to the case. The intent — the full intent — is to make sure that Zach gets back on the football field at some point this year. When that is, I’ll make that decision. I’m going to take it day to day.”

MORE: It sure sounds like Zach Wilson is losing the Jets locker room

Who is the Jets’ new starting QB?

The Jets announced that Mike White will be replacing Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback. White had recently moved ahead of veteran backup Joe Flacco on the team’s depth chart, so it isn’t a surprise that White is being tapped as the replacement for Wilson.

White has a career record of 1-2 as a starter and most notably helped the Jets upset the Bengals in his first career start in 2021. That said, White’s overall numbers are not great; he completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 953 yards in three starts, but he had just five touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.

As such, White will need to improve his decision-making and cut down on the interceptions if he wants to be a real upgrade over Wilson.

MORE: Jets fall to last place in AFC Standings after loss vs. Patriots

Jets QB depth chart

Below is a full look at the Jets’ quarterback depth chart, adjusted for the news that Wilson has been benched.

White is going to start for the Jets, but Saleh also announced that Flacco would move into the backup role for the team. That will render Wilson the team’s No. 3 quarterback, which will likely make him inactive on game day.

Flacco has a 99-80 career record with 232 touchdowns and 147 interceptions. He went 1-2 in two starts for the Jets earlier this season while throwing for 901 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions Flacco’s only issue is his inaccuracy, as he has completed just 58.7 percent of his passes this season.

If White struggles, then you could see the 37-year-old Flacco take the field against the Bears. But either way, Wilson won’t be available to play. We’ll soon see if that is a short-term or long-term decision.