Robert Saleh says NY Jets 'always believed' Zach Wilson was their best QB

The NY Jets made the controversial decision to switch back to Zach Wilson as their starting quarterback on Wednesday, entering their Week 14 game against the Houston Texans.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh met with reporters prior to Wednesday's practice and indicated that the team plans to start Wilson at quarterback moving forward. The expectation is that, barring injury, Wilson will be the starter for the remainder of the season.

This comes just three weeks after Wilson was benched in favor of Tim Boyle, who was released by the Jets earlier this week after two lackluster starters. Now, the Jets have turned back to Wilson.

What changed? According to Saleh — nothing.

Saleh told reporters that the Jets always believed that Wilson was the quarterback who gave the team their best chance to win. So why bench him? Why give Boyle and Trevor Siemian a shot? Saleh insists it's because the Jets wanted to spark their offense.

Evidently it didn't work.

Robert Saleh's quote about Zach Wilson perfectly sums up the NY Jets QB mess

So, to recap, Saleh and the Jets benched the quarterback they believed gave them the best chance to win because they thought playing a supposedly inferior quarterback would "spark the offense." That's essentially what's being implied here.

Now, are we supposed to believe all of that? I suppose that's up to your individual interpretation. Either way, the Jets plan to start Wilson over the final five weeks of the 2023 season.

The good (or bad?) news for Jets fans is that it doesn't really matter who the team starts at quarterback. The Jets' quarterback solution is not on the roster, and the hope is that none of these QBs are counted on in any meaningful way in 2024.

Despite his extensive struggles this season, the Jets' offense performed marginally better with Wilson at quarterback. Of course, saying that any NFL quarterback is an upgrade over Tim Boyle doesn't mean anything, but it's still worth noting.

Wilson has thrown for just six touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 games this season. He's completing 59 percent of his passes (somehow an improvement from last season), although his 6.1 yards/attempt is the lowest of his career. He's also fumbled a whopping nine times in total.

This is the quarterback room the Jets signed up for, however. They had every opportunity to properly address the backup quarterback position in the offseason and after Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury. They decided not to.

It'll be Zach Wilson at quarterback the rest of the way, but the real question is, does it even matter?