Muhammad Wilkerson benched by Jets

New York Jets defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson is not starting due to “coach’s decision.”

The New York Jets are 6-5, which is a shock to many who expected the team to struggle this season. Instead, they find themselves in the thick of the AFC playoff race. A lot of the praise for their strong season needs to be heaped upon first year head coach Todd Bowles.

Bowles took over a team that had a “player’s coach” in Rex Ryan (now of the Buffalo Bills). Rex seemed to favor the players regardless of the situation, a culture that could be hard to change.

The defensive minded coach Bowles seems to have had no major issues in setting the tone for his team, and to further prove the point it was announced during the CBS broadcast that former first-round selection, Muhammad Wilkerson, has been benched for the first quarter of their game against the New York Giants by the coach.

Originally it would seem that a player as important to the defensive philosophy as Wilkerson would only be sitting due to an injury, yet it turns out that isn’t the case here. No further detail was given on the benching, or whether or not it was even disciplinary. Wilkerson has 45 tackles and eight sacks for the Jets this year, his fifth season in the NFL. The 315-pound lineman was selected 30th overall by the Jets in the 2011 after playing collegiately at Temple University.