SEPTEMBER 30: Wilson is officially off the Jets’ injury report, as noted by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The news confirms that he will indeed make his 2022 debut on Sunday against the Steelers.

SEPTEMBER 28: Zach Wilson received medical clearance after his rehabilitation from arthroscopic knee surgery, Robert Saleh announced Wednesday. This is likely to precede a return to action Sunday.

Last year’s No. 2 overall pick will make his return to the Jets’ starting lineup if no setbacks occur in practice this week, Saleh added. Although Joe Flacco led the team to a Week 2 win and Mike White still has support from a sect of Jets fans, Wilson returning in Week 4 has been the team’s plan from the start.

Considering the injury issues that have affected Wilson’s career thus far, it represents a positive development the second-year passer is tracking toward returning on time. The Jets did not place Wilson on IR, so no roster move will need to be made if/when Wilson suits up against the Steelers.

Wilson sustained a meniscus tear and a bone bruise during the Jets’ preseason opener; he underwent successful surgery days later. The August set back has run the BYU product’s NFL absence count to seven games. Wilson missed four games because of a knee injury last season.

While Flacco has been asked to dial up high-volume passing outings during a 1-2 Jets start, Wilson’s injury effectively put the team’s blueprint on hold. This offseason centered around further equipping the team’s new franchise-QB hopeful. The Jets chased just about every receiver caught up in trade rumors and ended up drafting Garrett Wilson at No. 10 overall. That move came after New York signed free agent guard Laken Tomlinson. The Jets later drafted Breece Hall to bolster their backfield.

One obvious issue ahead of this Zach Wilson re-emergence: the tackle situation. Injuries have led the Jets astray at both tackle spots. George Fant now joins Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown on IR. Fant and Brown are not out for the season, so the team’s preferred tackle configuration still has a chance of surfacing around midseason. Fant, who has been battling a knee injury throughout the season, is shut down until at least Week 8. This development leaves veteran backup Conor McDermott and fourth-round rookie Max Mitchell in place as Wilson’s tackles against the Steelers on Sunday, though the Jets did poach Cedric Ogbuehi off the Texans’ practice squad and add Mike Remmers to their P-squad. Remmers, who has mostly played right tackle as a pro, is expected to be promoted to the 53-man roster soon.

Becton’s injury and subsequent wide receiver absences affected Wilson’s rookie year, but Sam Darnold‘s replacement has plenty to prove as a pro. Wilson, who rocketed onto the first-round radar after a strong junior year for a BYU team (a Division I-FBS independent) that faced a higher-than-usual number of mid-major programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ranked 31st in QBR in 13 rookie-year starts. Only Justin Fields came in below him. The Jets will hope their offseason additions can help Wilson progress. Now that he is on track to be back, that will be the rebuilding team’s central storyline.

The Jets have been holding their breath in recent days due to the knee injury suffered by starting quarterback Zach Wilson. Today’s procedure produced good news, however; the surgery was deemed a success, and led to no surprises with respect to his recovery timeline (Twitter link via ESPN’s Rich Cimini). 

Today’s operation – arthroscopic surgery aimed at repairing torn meniscus in his knee – ended up being simply a ‘trim,’ which was by far the more straightforward procedure, and the one which will allow Wilson to play in 2022. When he does so remains a question, of course, but this is an encouraging piece of news for the Jets.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that a return in time for Week 1 is still “in play.” The team will proceed with caution, though, so it remains more realistic that the original recovery timeline of two-to-four weeks will see him miss at least one game to open the regular season. In addition to the meniscus injury, Wilson has to deal with a bone bruise as part of the damage done during the team’s first preseason contest.

Assuming last season’s No. 2 pick is sidelined for at least Week 1, the Jets will turn to Joe Flacco as their starter, whom they have expressed confidence in since learning of Wilson’s injury. On that point, Rapoport adds that New York seems to have no intention in trading for outgoing 49er Jimmy Garoppolo (Twitter link). Flacco, 37, has started five winless games with the Jets over the past two seasons, but the season opener will be against the Ravens, with whom he played for 11 years and won a Super Bowl.

Wilson struggled as a rookie last season, but expectations are higher for himself individually and the Jets in general this season. He is line to have an upgraded skill-position group around him, so a Year 2 jump of note would come as little surprise. His early-season performance will no doubt be affected by his recovery from this operation, but confirmation in the best-case scenario is still a very positive development for Gang Green.

3:59pm: With Wilson expected to be out for two to four weeks, many have wondered if the Jets might need to make a move at quarterback, in case his knee injury ends up taking longer to heal than expected. But the Jets have confidence in backup veteran quarterback Joe Flacco “to hold the fort down” until Wilson’s eventual return, according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports.

Anderson even put forth the idea that naming Flacco the Week 1 starter may be the most responsible thing to do, so that Wilson and company don’t feel rushed to try to get him back to the field in time for the regular season before he’s fully healed. While an announcement for Week 1 may be a bit premature, those in the building know that there is no need to rush Wilson back to the field.

Flacco has been with the Jets for a little under two years as a backup quarterback, initially behind Sam Darnold and then behind Wilson. After his first year backing up for the Jets, he signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia to back up Jalen Hurts before being traded back to the Jets in late-October of last year.

Flacco has yet to win a game with the Jets going 0-5 in his five starts. He’s proven to be a serviceable starter during this time, though, throwing nine touchdowns to only three interceptions as a Jet.

The initial thought, if the prognosis for Wilson is correct, is that Flacco would only be needed for one regular season game at most, but, if Wilson needs any extra time to get back to 100%, New York has the utmost confidence in the 37-year-old Flacco.

10:24am: Wilson suffered a meniscus tear, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter). Coupled with the bone bruise, Wilson is expected to be sidelined for two or four weeks. This is obviously great news for the Jets, and ESPN’s Rich Cimini tweets that the team believes their starting QB could be ready to go for Week 1.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Wilson will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair the issue. That upcoming surgery will determine whether Wilson’s return is closer to the two-week timeline or the four-week timeline, per Schefter (on Twitter). Wilson will get more opinions to determine if he needs a knee scope, tweets Howe.

10:07am: Wilson suffered a bone bruise and his ligaments are “in good shape,” per Jeff Howe of The Athletic (on Twitter). The QB is set to undergo more tests to determine if there was any damage to his meniscus. At that time, we should get more clarity on a recovery timeline.

9:09am: The Jets are hoping they dodged a major bullet with their franchise quarterback. After Zach Wilson exited last night’s preseason opener with a knee issue, there was concern that the injury could end his season. Fortunately, ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes that the organization is hopeful that Wilson avoided a season-ending injury.The QB will undergo an MRI today to determine the extend of the knee damage.

Coach Robert Saleh said after the game that Wilson’s ACL is “supposed to be intact.” There are early indications that the QB may have reinjured his PCL, according to Cimini. That would be the same PCL that forced Wilson to miss four games during his rookie campaign. Assuming the Jets’ optimism turns out to be correct, the best-case scenario, according to Connor Hughes of SNYtv (on Twitter), would see Wilson sidelined for only two to three weeks, while the “worst case” would have the QB out for four to six weeks.

The non-contact injury certainly didn’t look great when it happened. Wilson suffered the injury during the Jets’ second offensive series, with the QB’s knee appearing to “buckle” before he fell to the ground. Wilson was able to walk off the field under his own power, but he did have a noticeable limp. Mike Kaye of ProFootballNetwork.com questions Wilson’s decision to scramble for extra yards; after passing the line of scrimmage, Wilson could have continued his path toward the sideline, but he decided to cut for extra yards. He “planted his foot awkwardly,” leading to the injury. Saleh seemed to agree with this sentiment, telling reporters that Wilson should have ran out of bounds instead of trying to shake the defender (per Kaye on Twitter).

The Jets have been a bit tight lipped since last night, but that has nothing to do with Wilson’s outlook. Rather, as Hughes notes, the staff is a bit “spooked” after how things unfolded with offensive lineman Mekhi Becton. When the right tackle suffered his knee injury, there was hope that he wouldn’t be out long. However, subsequent tests showed that the lineman suffered a fractured kneecap and would be done for the season.

“I’m over with trying to decipher doctor language, so I’m just going to let the MRI play out and figure it out tomorrow,” Saleh said after the game (via Kaye).

Assuming Wilson misses at least a few weeks, the Jets can use the extra reps to determine the No. 2 QB on the depth chart. Veteran Joe Flacco seems to have a solid hold of that gig, although he didn’t leave the sideline during last night’s contest. Mike White got an extended look in place of Wilson, with former UDFA Chris Streveler also getting some reps.

As expected, the Jets will have their No. 2 overall pick back under center when they take on the Texans on Sunday. As Alex Smith of SNY.tv writes, Zach Wilson will get the start for Gang Green.

Wilson suffered a PCL sprain in the team’s blowout loss at the hands of the Patriots in Week 7, and since then, the Jets have deployed Mike White, Josh Johnson, and Joe Flacco at quarterback. New York has gone 1-3 in that span, with its lone victory coming in a White-led upset of the Bengals in Week 8.

White’s performance in the Cincinnati game and in the first quarter of the ensuing matchup against the Colts — he left that contest early due to an injury of his own — gave the former fifth-rounder a chance to hang onto the starting job even when Wilson was healthy enough to return. But while the Jets still plan to tender White, an impending RFA, this offseason, his disastrous four-interception outing against the Bills in Week 10 scuttled that opportunity. He was benched in favor of the veteran Flacco for last week’s loss to the Dolphins.

Of course, even if the Jets were inclined to start one of White or Flacco over Wilson this week, they would be unable to. The team has placed both passers on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and they will be forced to miss Sunday’s game. Johnson will serve as Wilson’s backup.

Wilson has generally struggled in his rookie season. The BYU product has gone just 1-5 in his six starts and has mustered a meager 63.5 quarterback rating. He has completed just 57.5% of his passes and has tossed four touchdowns against nine interceptions. If he can show a marked improvement down the home stretch, the Jets’ offseason outlook will be considerably brighter.