Garrett Wilson's blunt remarks raise major red flags about Aaron Glenn

2025 has been really, really bad for the New York Jets. Why? Count the ways. The defense has been bad. The offense has been bad. Special teams have been bad. The coaching has been bad. The messaging has been bad. It's all been bad.

But one of the silver linings in this storm is the leadership we've seen out of both Quinnen Williams and Garrett Wilson. It appears there are two good young players with good heads on their shoulders on both sides of the football for the Jets. This is what you want.

What you don't want is to hear that one of those well-respected leaders is just about fed up with the direction of new head coach Aaron Glenn. Unfortunately for all stakeholders in the New York Jets' ultimate success, this is precisely what we got on Sunday after the team's 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Aaron Glenn is losing the one Jets player he cannot afford to lose

I had no idea what was going on as I watched the Jets players and coaches frantically trying to determine what to do as the half wound down. It quickly became apparent that Wilson was similarly lost. The Jets had just successfully converted a fake punt on fourth-and-one. Time to keep pushing, right?

Wrong. Aaron Glenn opted instead to let the clock run out. This felt bizarre. Why bother with the fake punt if you plan to let the half expire? And why let the half expire, when you still have a chance to score?

While Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner vocalized their dismay, Garrett Wilson had a rare outburst as the seconds ticked away. It concluded with Glenn walking to the locker room with the superstar wide receiver chewing out his right ear. It was not a pretty scene.

After the dust had settled, Glenn seemingly explained the strategy to Wilson. And we all found out what that strategy was after the game. Though Wilson gained clarity, he didn't appear satisfied with how everything went down or with the mindset of the coaching staff.

You can tell Wilson knows that he's one of the two most important leaders of the team. You can tell this by the way he didn't completely eviscerate his head coach.

Based on his body language and tone, he is more than a little bit disappointed with the way things are going. But instead of delivering a full-on rant (something Sauce Gardner is more liable to do), Wilson kept his frustration masked and his thoughts brief.

"I just didn't know exactly what the plan was. Once I figured it out, I was disappointed. I'll just say that."

Garrett Wilson

He followed with a hesitant “So, um,” paused for what felt like an eternity, and finally settled on a simple “yeah.” Everyone knows that kind of pause — the one where you’re deciding whether to speak up or bite your tongue. Wilson clearly thought about saying more, then chose restraint. That moment said a lot about his growth as a leader.

However, it's not a positive sign for Glenn, whose offensive captain is now on record saying, "I didn't know what the plan was." That's incredibly symbolic. The best player on the offense was at a complete loss at a crucial moment in the game. It falls directly on leadership. It falls directly on Glenn.

Wilson continued to keep his concerns diplomatic, eventually acknowledging that, in hindsight, he "gets why they did that," but never let frustration dissipate from his voice or expression.

It turns out the Jets used the fake punt as a tool to retain possession to keep the ball out of Denver's hands. This is a questionable move at best, given how well the defense had been playing all day. But that's a whole separate issue.

This issue comes down to the team's leader and head coach not being in lock-step. Garrett Wilson is a leader, and he's clearly trying to keep his composure through this madness. But every week, that patience wanes. And this week, it came close to a head.