Robert Saleh backed Zach Wilson as his starting quarterback despite another poor performance during the Jets’ loss to the Chargers, adding that he hasn’t thought of changing signal-callers and doesn’t plan to promote Trevor Siemian from the practice squad.
“[Wilson] can be a lot better, but it’s lazy to just put it all on him,” Saleh said Tuesday. “Like I said, it was collective all the way across the board.”
It might be getting difficult for Saleh to keep supporting the player in charge of the league’s third-worst offense, though.
During a Tuesday appearance on “The Michael Kay Show,” Saleh hesitated when Kay questioned why he wouldn’t at least try Siemian.
And after admitting it was a fair question, Saleh said he didn’t know and was going to “plead the Fifth.”
“I’ve got to look at it from a global standpoint and just see where we are,” Saleh said during the segment, “and look at the all-22 [film] the best I can and make the decision as best as possible.”
Wilson completed 33 of 49 passes for 263 yards in the Jets’ 27-6 loss at MetLife Stadium on Monday night, but he lost two fumbles and logged just eight completions that traveled more than 10 yards — three of which occurred in the game’s final 10 minutes with the outcome decided.
At times this season, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021 appeared to make strides after spending a summer learning under Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, but the Jets haven’t scored a touchdown since Breece Hall’s 50-yard reception in the first quarter against the Giants.
The putrid offense presented an ugly flashback to the unit that never stopped sputtering in 2022 and resulted in offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur getting fired.
Wilson was benched twice last season — once in late November, once in December — as the Jets turned to Mike White and then Chris Streveler with Gang Green fighting for a playoff spot.
This season, Saleh would have to use Tim Boyle — the backup quarterback on their 53-man roster — or Siemian if he benched Wilson, as Aaron Rodgers continues to recover from a torn Achilles and aim for a late-season return if the Jets remain in the postseason hunt.
Neither Boyle nor Siemian has taken any reps with the first-team offense.
“If it was just him, that would be worth discussing,” Saleh said when asked about changing quarterbacks, “but this is a collective issue that we all need to get on the same page — with whether it’s dropped balls, players being where they’re supposed to be, executing the way we need to execute, calling plays that need to be called, putting players in the positions they need to be put into.
“That’s all of us. And yes, [Wilson] has a lot of things that he needs to improve on and I know he understands that, but at the same time, this is collective.”
The Jets ran just eight plays in the red zone across two drives Monday.
Three of those snaps ended with sacks.
Another one was a Thomas Morstead field goal.
The other four plays totaled 9 yards, as drives stalled even when they did advance the ball. Their season-long weaknesses — red zone and third downs — haven’t improved.
“It seems like insanity,” Saleh said, “but when you’re backed in a corner, you’ve got to keep swinging, you’ve got to keep trying to find ways to get better, you’ve got to find ways to be more efficient.”
Wilson, who has thrown for five touchdowns and five interceptions this season, played behind another new offensive line combination Monday, with rookie Joe Tippmann at center, Billy Turner at right tackle and Max Mitchell at right guard.
The constant shuffling hasn’t helped, Saleh said.
Still, everything with the Jets’ offense will always trace back to Wilson — or at least for as long as he remains the starter.
The quarterback is the point guard, Saleh said. The one tasked with being the “tone-setter.” The one who ensures every play unfolds exactly as designed.
But the Jets have just eight drives across the past four games that have traveled longer than 50 yards, and two of those featured 72- and 50-yard touchdowns on the first plays.
Even the Patriots, one of two teams averaging fewer points per game (15.0) than the Jets (16.5), totaled 11 across that stretch.
The Jets seem like they’re out of options.
But that hasn’t stopped Saleh from sticking with Wilson, at least for one more week.
“I’m not looking for excuses,” Saleh said. “I promise you, I’m not. It’s something that our guys are working through and we’re doing our best to try to make sure that everyone gets on the same page as quickly as possible so we can be our best.”