Roughly 24 hours after Mike White’s second-consecutive encouraging start leading the New York Jets offense, the question of whether or not he will remain the starter for the rest of 2022 has intensified.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh just met with reporters and was asked to provide insight on where things stand with the most important position.
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Robert Saleh states it’s still “status quo” for New York Jets at QB:
The original plan made known when the Jets made the move from Wilson to White was that things would be week-to-week with regard to White as the starter and Wilson being inactive. Saleh referred to Wilson’s benching as more of a “reset” and that the plan was to get Wilson back out on the field again in 2022.
At his press conference, Saleh just declared things at quarterback as “status quo.” Wilson will remain inactive, barring a change. When asked if the intent is still for Wilson to suit back up as the starter at some point in the final five games, Saleh had this to say.
“I’m still right there with that same intent. Zach’s been doing everything right. He’s been putting in the extra meeting time. He’s been putting in the extra work after practice. Really working on trying to retile his fundamentals together. … And regain all the confidence that we know he is capable of and all the different things that he is capable of as a quarterback. But the intent is to still get him back on the football field.”
To follow up with that, Saleh was asked why, with the way White has played, the Jets making a playoff push, and considering the fact that there are only five games left. Saleh called White “capable” and said the following.
“So, for Mike, and I’m going to stay status-quo on all of it. This is Mike’s opportunity to make noise. And you never ask how your opportunity comes, you just take advantage of your opportunity, and you do the best you can. We got all the faith in Mike, I’ve said it before. … But right now, while Zach is focusing on reconnecting and doing all the different things that we know he is capable of, right now, it’s Mike’s opportunity. And I really would love to just focus on Mike and his opportunity and give him every chance to succeed.”
Saleh said right after, when asked if White can throw the plan off, he simply stated that White has played “really well.”
The final question asked to Saleh was whether or not he is open to the idea that White could be the Jets’ long-term quarterback and a better player than Wilson. Saleh responded by saying, “one week at a time.”
So, for now, while White has done a remarkable job of leading the Jets’ offense, it still looks as if nothing is guaranteed beyond the week. However, should White put together a third-straight admirable performance, in Buffalo, with then only four games left, one would assume that this plan would have to get called off.