Zach Wilson must show Jets that he can stay healthy above all else

Eli Manning stands because the franchise quarterback poster boy for that oft-repeated NFL maxim that the perfect skill is availability. If there have been a New York Soccer Giants recreation scheduled, ’Ole As soon as A Big Solely A Big confirmed up and performed.

It endeared him to his teammates, to Tom Coughlin, to John Mara and Steve Tisch, and naturally to Giants followers.

So this was Robert Saleh, moments after he dropped the bombshell solely 48 hours after singing a extra optimistic public tune that Zach Wilson will now be watching Joe Flacco Sunday towards the Ravens and thru all of September on the very least:

“I actually don’t wish to speak in regards to the state of affairs anymore. The earliest he’s gonna be accessible is Pittsburgh, that’s gonna be the earliest.”

At which era, the potential will exist for a Catch-2: What if the 37-year-old pilot of Flight 2022 navigates by the early-season turbulence and lands the Jet safely?

“Zach’s our future,” Saleh mentioned.. “When Zach’s wholesome, he’s rolling.”

Right here’s the unsettling downside:

Zach can’t keep wholesome. He had problem staying wholesome at BYU, has problem staying wholesome now.

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Zach Wilson at Jets follow on Wednesday.
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It signifies that Zach, who missed 4 video games in 2021 with a sprained PCL on this identical proper knee, will confront a crossroads crucial every time he's cleared by the docs to return: He merely can't afford one other harm that will shelve him once more and trigger the group to start to noticeably surprise about his sturdiness and even about whether or not he's the best man for the job.

He should present that he can keep on the sector.

“Yeah after all, I imply, you by no means plan to go on the market and get injured,” Wilson mentioned, “so the objective after all is to simply attempt to put myself in good conditions … try to get myself out of unhealthy conditions.”

He will likely be watching Flacco as a result of he put himself in a nasty state of affairs attempting to atone for a grievous preseason interception by chopping inside a defender as an alternative of taking the revenue.

“I don’t suppose I’ll play any in another way,” Wilson mentioned. “Folks can say, ‘It's best to have gotten out of bounds, it is best to have slid, however I imply, it was a non-contact harm, the man didn’t sort out me. If the man hit me and I received injured, that’s one factor. … I gotta handle myself and put myself in a greater state of affairs there and generally unlucky stuff like that simply occurs.”

Unlucky stuff like that occurs when the lionhearted can't tame the raging fireplace inside, and no less than he acknowledged a couple of minutes later that maybe discretion is usually the higher a part of valor. And for his sake, he should abandon any trace of macho ball.

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Zach Wilson speaks to the media.
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“Kinda like in that preseason recreation, it was unlucky as a result of I didn’t get hit, however there may be instances the place you may get your self out of hassle, and slide, get out of bounds,” Wilson mentioned, “not do one thing silly.”

The younger Phil Simms wore an injury-prone tag earlier than overcoming two shoulder separations, one knee harm and one compound fracture-dislocation of a thumb in his sixth season. He admitted that he “pressed so arduous” when he received again on the sector.

“Some issues occur the place you simply get unhealthy luck and he simply wants a string of excellent luck,” Saleh mentioned. “It’ll come.”

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Zach Wilson
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Constructive vibes solely: Wilson is throwing. “He appears improbable … he’s not strolling with a limp or something,” Saleh mentioned.

The Jets are proper for taking part in it protected with their younger franchise quarterback.

“It’s not definitely worth the threat. There’s the knee component, there’s the thoughts component, there’s the follow component,” Saleh mentioned.

That’s a number of components. The component of shock for the Ravens was by no means real looking. Requested when he was dominated out for Week 1, Wilson mentioned coyly: “When did Saleh say that, at present?”

Yup.

“I really really feel I’m in a fantastic spot,” Wilson mentioned.

He’ll be in a greater spot when the bone bruise is healed and he can play uninhibited and unencumbered once more.

“I don’t really feel prefer it’s gonna be one thing that bothers me,” Wilson mentioned.

So the message goes like this:

Get nicely.

Then keep nicely.

Your future remains to be now. Give your franchise, your coaches, your teammates and your followers a 14-game season.

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