Aaron Rodgers Sympathizes With Zach Wilson After Jets’ Benching
Aaron Rodgers made his weekly Tuesday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN and addressed the Jets’ decision to bench Zach Wilson in favor of Tim Boyle.
New York made the decision to demote Wilson to QB3, running with Boyle as the starter and Trevor Siemian as the backup for the foreseeable future.
Speaking about Wilson and the team’s decision to move on from him as its starter, Rodgers offered sympathy to the young quarterback, suggesting he was the scapegoat for what was an overall difficult situation.
“I feel for Zach, I love Zach. Zach is such a great kid. And I do think he still has a bright future in the league” said Rodgers. “This has been a tough go for all of us. A lot of times in these situations, there’s certain guys they’ve got to scapegoat. I think there’s enough blame to go around at a number of different positions.”
"I love Zach Wilson and he's a great kid..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 21, 2023
I have some personal guilt around the whole thing and I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to play..
Zach would've had the opportunity to learn and grow without the pressure on him this season" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/GxRQtIDwfp
Rodgers spoke highly of Wilson, saying that the blame shouldn’t rest solely on the 24-year-old. He also expressed guilt for the situation Wilson was unexpectedly thrown into following the Achilles injury Rodgers sustained in Week 1.
“This was obviously not the way any of us thought this was going to go down. It was going to be me and my show and Zach getting to learn and watch it first hand, and not having the pressure to go out there and play. So, obviously this is disappointing and I have some personal guilt about the whole thing,” Rodgers said.
In 10 games as the Jets’ starting quarterback in 2023, Wilson threw for six touchdowns and seven interceptions. He threw just two touchdown passes in his last six games, and with New York on a three-game losing skid, the team opted to shake things up under center.