Zach Wilson is now the other Jets quarterback.
Wilson has been the focus of the franchise — and a fan base searching for a savior — since he was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Now, with Aaron Rodgers heading to New York as the starting quarterback, the focus will shift off of Wilson somewhat.
The 23-year-old was, of course, the subject of Twitter ridicule after the trade went down on Monday — particularly this quote from the end of last season.
“I’m gonna make that dude’s life hell in practice every day,” Wilson said after the Jets’ season ended with him behind Mike White and Joe Flacco on the depth chart.
“I’m gonna go out there and do my best to show the coaches that I deserve to be there. It’s not in a negative way, it’s in a positive way. It’s making everybody else better, hopefully.”
That will be Wilson’s role for now, trying to make the team and himself better at practice behind Rodgers.
This now becomes a season — barring injury for Rodgers — where Wilson can learn from one of the best ever to do it and figure out what has gone so wrong in the first two years of his career.
Wilson is likely penciled in as the No. 2 for now.
Tim Boyle, whom the Jets signed earlier this month and has worked behind Rodgers before, and Chris Streveler are the other quarterbacks on the depth chart.
Wilson has shown flashes of the potential that made him a star at BYU, but that has been too often overshadowed by maddening inconsistencies and critical mistakes.
“It’s about having faith in the person that you evaluated, the person you spoke to, the person that you’ve invested in has the ability to get to where you think he’s capable of getting,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said near the end of the season.
“The easy answer is, ‘Well I’ll just get rid of him, go get somebody new.’ The hard part is to stay true to your conviction and continue to develop a young man who you know can be capable of doing anything, but again, that comes with time.”
Through two seasons, Wilson has thrown for 4,022 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions in 20 games.
He was benched as a rookie and then twice in Year 2 as the Jets turned to White to lead a team loaded with young offensive weapons and a stout defense.
Wilson, whose mom approved of the trade, seems to have a solid relationship with Rodgers as both have spoken glowingly of each other in the past.
Aaron Rodgers traded to the Jets
On Monday, after months of speculation and rumors, the Jets and Packers came to an agreement on a trade that brings four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York.
The trade immediately upgrades the Jets from rising team to playoff contender with the hopes that Rodgers will help break one of the longest active postseason droughts in sports.
The trade
The Jets receive: Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 pick (2023) and No. 170 pick (2023).
The Packers receive: No. 13 pick (2023), No. 42 pick (2023), No. 207 pick (2023) and a conditional second-round 2024 draft pick that conveys to a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ plays in 2023.
What comes next
The trade still needs to be finalized — the terms of Rodgers’ contract need to be worked out — and sent to the NFL.
Both teams will begin feeling this deal as early as Thursday at the 2023 NFL Draft.
For the Packers, it’s now about getting fourth-year QB Jordan Love ready to take over. With Gang Green, it’s about getting a whole host of new faces on the same page offensively.
“I met him before the draft and then they came and practiced against us in the preseason, some of those inter-squad practices [in August 2021]. … I think he’s super talented,” Rodgers said of Wilson on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“I think a little humility is good for all of us at various times in our careers. I think the first year, they literally had no players. They came to play us and I was like, the defense can play, and the offense needs some players. For him, it’s just gonna be leaning into humility and consistently working on the fundamentals. … I hope that whoever they decide to go with at coordinator can come in and work with him and break down a lot of the fundamentals for him and get him playing on time because I think he’s talented enough to have a long career in the league.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of Aaron Rodgers being traded to the Jets
- Exclusive photos: Aaron Rodgers arrives in New Jersey in Jets gear
- Serby: Aaron Rodgers changes everything for Jets
- Meet Aaron Rodgers’ rumored girlfriend
- Jets GM: Trade is ‘historic’ for franchise
Wilson has two years left on his rookie deal and his near future will be directly tied to Rodgers — and how long the 39-year-old thinks his second act after 18 years in Green Bay will last.
We will start getting some answers on that soon.
