Zach Wilson Says The Jets' Starting QB Job "Must Be Earned"

Zach Wilson spoke with reporters at rookie minicamp, Saturday.

New York Jets’ quarterback Zach Wilson spoke with reporters during the second day of rookie minicamp, Saturday, and explained that the starting job has to be earned, despite the team drafting him with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

“In this position, the coaches want to play the best player. That position has to be earned,” he told the press, according to ESPN. “I have to do what I’m supposed to do. That’ll take care of itself.”

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Jets’ new head coach, Robert Saleh, said he was impressed with Wilson’s performance thus far.

“He did a really nice job,” Saleh said. “The ball was in and out of his hand very crisp. He was in rhythm and was on time; the players were running the right routes. The ball was barely on the ground.”

The only other quarterbacks on the team’s roster are Mike White and James Morgan, neither of whom have played in a regular-season game.

Wilson also told reporters that he’d be moving to number two with the Jets, after playing with the number one on his jersey throughout college: “Mixing it up, doing something new. I like single-digit numbers. I think it’s kind of cool that I was the second pick. That’s kind of a cool reason to shake it up.”

[Via]