Desperate Jets turn to Boyle as Zach Wilson drops to No. 3 QB | New York Jets

Tim Boyle will be the New York Jets’ starting quarterback against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, the team confirmed Monday.

Boyle replaces benched Zach Wilson, who took over as starter when Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon four plays in his debut with New York in his first game of the season. New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Monday that Wilson will be the third quarterback on the roster against the Dolphins, with Trevor Siemian serving as Boyle’s backup.

“Actually it’s just to give [Boyle] an opportunity to see if we can do something with the offense,” Saleh said.

It will be the fourth time that Boyle, 29, NFL start and the first since 2021 with the Detroit Lions. He is, at best, a below-average NFL quarterback and has thrown three touchdowns and nine interceptions in his career.

Wilson and the Jets offense have struggled mightily this season, and coach Robert Saleh pulled the former second overall draft pick late in the third quarter of New York’s 32-6 loss in Buffalo on Sunday.

Boyle replaced Wilson, and now has a chance to take the starting job on a short week for the Jets when they face the AFC East rival Dolphins on Friday. Boyle didn’t look much better than Wilson on Sunday. He completed 7 of 14 for 33 yards and an interception. Wilson was 7 of 15 for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“When things aren’t done, you have to make changes,” Wilson said after the game. “And I understand it.”

Sunday’s poor performance came after changes were made to the offense last week, including waiving running back Michael Carter, giving more snaps to youngsters like tight end Jeremy Ruckert, running back Israel Abanikanda and wide receivers Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee, and move the offense. coordinator Nathaniel Hackett from the bench to the stand.

None of that seemed to work.

Meanwhile, Rodgers is trying to quickly recover from his torn Achilles tendon. He said he has his sights set on playing again next month, as long as he is medically cleared and the Jets (4-6) are in playoff contention. However, unless things improve dramatically on offense, the postseason will be little more than a pipe dream. The Jets have missed the playoffs in 12 consecutive seasons, the longest active drought in the NFL, and there is no reason to think their faltering offense will improve under Boyle. The Jets didn’t bring in a viable replacement for Wilson when Rodgers went down with an injury, even though a trade for solid quarterbacks like Jacoby Brissett or Joshua Dobbs might have been possible.

Boyle will now have the opportunity to try to fix things for New York in place of Wilson, who was benched twice last season before the Jets pursued and acquired Rodgers in the offseason.

“I thought Tim came in, he was decisive, he got rid of the ball,” Saleh said after the game. “He did some good things.”

The Jets rank near the bottom of the NFL standings in several offensive categories, including conversion percentage on both third down and in the red zone. New York was 0-for-11 on third down, but was 4-for-5 on fourth down against Buffalo. They scored their first offensive touchdown since Oct. 29 on their only trip inside the Bills’ 20-yard line on Sunday.

Wilson is ranked 30th out of 31 qualified starters. in QBR rating this season, the same position he held in his rookie season in 2021. He has won just 11 of his 31 starts in his first three seasons in the league and has thrown 21 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. The next season is the last year of his contractafter which his career with the Jets will almost certainly be over.

The Jets’ long-term plan had been for Wilson to learn on the bench before eventually replacing Rodgers, who turns 40 next month. Those plans now appear to be over, although Saleh said he still believes Wilson will have “a really good career in this league.”