Jets quarterback Zach Wilson tried to play through pain before a head injury ultimately sidelined him midway through Sunday’s 30-0 loss to the Dolphins, his mother revealed.
Wilson, 24, exited the game late in the second quarter and is now in concussion protocol. The third-year quarterback took some “really, really big hits,” mom Lisa Wilson said on her Instagram story.
“He didn’t want to go off,” she said in the video. “He didn’t want to stop playing, so he didn’t really tell the sideline, the coaches, the trainers how he was really feeling and he tried to just fight through it and keep going so he could be out there for his guys.”
She continued, “After one more blow to the head, he really started having problems with blurred vision and his depth perception, and he started really worrying that he was actually going to hurt his team if he stayed out there because his vision was not right.”
Sunday’s CBS broadcast initially reported the Jets said Wilson left the game with dehydration, but the QB was officially ruled out after halftime with what the team called a head injury.
Jets coach Robert Saleh addressed that confusion during his press conference Monday, saying, “I’m not exactly sure on the communication.”
“I just know that it came from up top that they wanted to review a possible head injury, and he was put in the protocol,” Saleh said.
Wilson completed 4-of-11 passes for 26 yards before being replaced Sunday by Trevor Siemian. Wilson, whom the Jets drafted second overall in 2021, began the year as the Jets’ backup quarterback but was pressed into starting duty when Aaron Rodgers suffered an Achilles tear during the team’s first offensive series of Week 1.
Wilson has been benched three times in the past two seasons, including last month. He sat two games before returning to the starting lineup for the Jets’ Dec. 10 win over the Texans, after which he received AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors following a 301-yard, two-touchdown performance.
Saleh said Wilson would be the Jets’ starting quarterback once he clears concussion protocol, with Siemian next in line to replace him.
The Jets opened Rodgers’ 21-day practice window in late November and must decide by Wednesday whether to activate the four-time NFL MVP. With Sunday’s loss, the Jets fell to 5-9 and were eliminated from postseason contention.
