Joe Flacco never saw the Jets’ backup quarterback shuffle coming, but the veteran said all the right things about the move on Wednesday.
The Jets demoted Flacco to the No. 3 quarterback role last week and elevated Mike White to be Zach Wilson’s backup. The move was a surprise after Flacco had started the first three games of the season while Wilson recovered from knee surgery, then was the backup for the next four games.
“Of course I was surprised and I’m disappointed about it,” Flacco said. “At the same time, I’ve got to keep it about the team and try to not be a selfish guy and make my situation any more unique than anybody else’s situation in the locker room.”
The quarterbacks got the news last week, but it was not evident to the public until the warm-ups before the Jets’ loss Sunday to the Patriots when White was taking all of the reps along with Wilson. Flacco was then inactive for the game. The Jets have said they want White to play if Wilson gets injured, so moving him up to the No. 2 role can prepare him for that. The Jets feel they need to find out what the 27-year-old White can do for the future.
White said he was happy about the move but was not trying to get too caught up in it.
“I’m trying not to make too much of it,” White said. “Never ride the roller coaster. Never get too high, never get too low. It was cool, but business as usual. Coming in, my process didn’t change. My day-to-day routine didn’t change. Try not to make anything out of the ordinary.”
Now that WR Elijah Moore has remained on the Jets past the trade deadline, head coach Robert Saleh acknowledged they need to find a bigger role for him. Moore played just 10 snaps Sunday against the Patriots, his first game after demanding a trade that never came.
“For sure we’ll find a way to make sure that it balances out the way we want it to,” Saleh said, “but at the same time like I said with Corey [Davis] being down, getting [Denzel] Mims out there, keeping a bigger body out at the Z, and Garrett [Wilson is] playing at such a high level right now to give him the opportunity to play football too, but you’re right we’ve got to make sure we find more opportunities to for [Moore].”
Davis (knee) did not practice Wednesday and his status remains up in the air for Sunday. OT Duane Brown (shoulder), G Nate Herbig (hand), S Lamarcus Joyner (hip) and TE C.J. Uzomah (shoulder) were limited, but Saleh said he expects them to play. … Rookie OLB Jermaine Johnson will be active Sunday after missing the past three games following an ankle injury.