Aaron Rodgers: Zach Wilson’s warning to a QB resurfaces as trade happens

In January, struggling Jets quarterback Zach Wilson made headlines when he told reporters that if New York acquired an experienced QB during the offseason, he would “make that guy’s life hell in practice any day.”

It now appears that Wilson will have a chance to do just that after the Jets finally completed their long-awaited trade for Aaron Rodgers, which stirred up a large contingent of NY’s players on social media.

“I’m going to make that guy’s life a living hell every day,” Wilson said. “I’m going to go out and do my best to show the coaches I deserve to be there. It’s not in a negative way, it’s a positive way. It makes everyone better.’

At the time, New York had already been linked with acquiring an experienced quarterback to take Wilson’s place in the starting lineup next season, primarily former Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr or former San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

Carr eventually signed a deal with the New Orleans Saints in free agency, while Garoppolo signed a deal to fill the open QB position in Las Vegas.

Despite the Jets rumor already doing the rounds, head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas had insisted they still saw a future for Wilson in New York, despite the glaring reality that he wasn’t even close to an NFL- starter.

“Philosophically, we’ve never been a team that gave up on talent early,” Douglas said. “We all know the talent that Zach possesses.

“We’re going to do what we’ve been doing with each player, which is work with Zach, develop Zach. We’re going to do everything we can to ultimately help Zach reach his full potential here.”

While Douglas and Saleh have maintained a united front that they want to keep Wilson and develop him further, the GM also stopped by saying the former No. 2 overall pick would start.

When Saleh was asked a direct question about Wilson starting next season, he said: ‘The one thing I can promise him is that he will have an absolute chance to compete.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s our starter, if we sit back and rededicate him as a starter, whatever it is, whatever decision we make, I’ll stand by what I’ve told you in the past that the next four months until OTAs are about him.”

After spending more than a month in trade negotiations and bidding farewell to a package that may include a first-round draft pick, it seems all but guaranteed that Rodgers will be the Jets starter so long as he is healthy in 2023.

Since the Jets have also signed former Packers backup QB Tim Boyle, the team also has good coverage if they decide to trade Wilson all together and raise money on another team that may still believe in the potential of the young QB.