The New York Jets willingly hit the eject button on quarterback Zach Wilson last offseason. They traded the former No. 2 overall pick to the Denver Broncos in a swap of late-round draft choices in 2024.
This offseason Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel revealed that Wilson was a “direct calculated target” in free agency. Miami inked the former BYU product this offseason to a one-year deal with a maximum value of $10 million with $6 million guaranteed.
It was a significant investment by the Dolphins. According to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Wilson’s new “salary makes him the fifth highest-paid backup quarterback in the league.”
After being traded from the Jets to the Broncos in 2024, Wilson did not appear in a single game for Denver. He was listed as the third quarterback on the 53-man roster throughout the season.
The Jets Could See Wilson Again Next Season
A backup quarterback is always just one hit away from being the starter. That statement is true for all 32 NFL teams. However, the backup quarterback position holds special meaning in South Beach.
Tua Tagovailoa, 27, is Miami’s franchise quarterback. This past offseason, he signed a record-breaking four-year extension worth $212.4 million. One of the main problems with the former Alabama product is his inability to stay healthy.
Since entering the league in 2020 as the No. 5 overall pick in the first round, Tagovailoa has only stayed healthy for one full season.
Across his five seasons in the NFL, Tagovailoa has missed 20 total games. Tagovailoa missed a “career high” six games this past season due to concussion and hip injuries, per Louis-Jacques.
“What I see in Zach is the experience of being the second pick in the draft, being the starter Week 1 and then not fulfilling the rookie contract; that is behind him,” McDaniel told ESPN via Louis-Jacques. “So to me, that’s an exciting prospect because you can’t put a measurement on that human ability that is huge at the quarterback position. Not comparing the players at all — on the record, not comparing the players — Tua found that this environment helped him through that process. As coaches, we want to offer literally everything to his game, and I’m excited about where he’s at based upon him.”
McDaniel said adding Wilson to the QB room is something “that was on our mind for a considerable amount of time.”
“I watched every snap of his collegiate play, and he was a phenomenal talent that in my opinion, didn’t have reps in an NFL pocket yet. Like at BYU he was launching it from about 10 and 11 yards deep and you’re not in the phone booth, and so my estimation, there was going to be some nuanced growth to his game that I think it is close to impossible to excel that early in that new form of football that he was playing (in the NFL),” McDaniel told ESPN via Louis-Jacques.
More on Wilson’s Struggles With Jets
The Jets couldn’t maximize Wilson’s gifts. To be fair, the Jets haven’t successfully developed many quarterbacks in team history. McDaniel is well respected around the league for his offensive creativity and his abilities as a QB whisperer.
If he can’t fix him, then no one can. However it is noteworthy that the Dolphins identified Wilson as a player that they believe can hold down the fort if Tagovailoa gets hurt.
Wilson showed zero signs in New York of being capable of that. He finished his Jets tenure with more interceptions (25) than passing touchdowns (23).
In addition to his poor play on the field, Wilson turned heads for his lack of accountability, which ultimately got him benched.
Considering Tagovailoa’s injury history and knowing the football Gods, it seems inevitable that Wilson will see the Jets again as a starting quarterback in 2025.
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