Back to Year One: Aaron Rodgers presence isn’t enough to change Zach Wilson

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is attracting the wrong kind of attention for his training camp performances this week.

Less than a week after making one sweet throw, Zach Wilson has soured at Jets training camp.

Wilson only played three series in the Jets’ Hall of Fame Game against the Browns and he didn’t fail miserably, so naturally, the hype surrounding the former No. 2 overall pick started to rise.

Well, it’s going to be a rollercoaster of ups and downs at training camp for Wilson, who just received one of his most disappointing reviews yet.

During Wednesday’s camp practice, Wilson recorded back-to-back misfires before throwing a pick on a third down.

One bad practice is hardly the end-all for Wilson this year, but given his history… let’s just say people aren’t giving him the benefit of the doubt anymore.

Amid ongoing optimism that the presence of future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers can help Wilson improve his game, it’s possible the veteran-youngster combo won’t work as well as the Jets hope it will.

Jets QB Zach Wilson looks bad, with or without Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers was involved in the one Hall of Fame Game play that made Wilson look good, when Wilson launched a 57-yard pass to Malik Taylor for a massive gain. Since Rodgers joined the Jets in late April, he continues to serve as a positive veteran presence for the Wilson, and in truth, the two will need to spend more time together before any surefire conclusions can be drawn.

Despite Wilson’s previous claim that he planned to make his fellow quarterback’s life hell in 2023, Rodgers and Wilson have gotten along surprisingly well with the ex-Packer taking Wilson under his wing.

Rodgers knows a thing or two about mediocre rookie seasons, and for the last two years, Wilson has been as mediocre as it gets. A 55.2 pass completion rate and 15 touchdowns against 18 picks isn’t going to help him win Jets fans’ trust anytime soon. Heading into Wilson’s third season with the team, the Jets may need more than Aaron Rodgers to fix him — something more along the lines of a cloud-parting miracle.

Granted, any news that comes out of teams’ training camp should be taken with a heaping of salt, as the media does tend to blow things out of proportion and camp itself offers a small sample size.

Had Wilson been crushing it this summer, someone still would have found a way to spin a negative angle. He can’t ever win — just like he can’t win for the Jets this season. It’s Aaron Rodgers or bust for New York in 2023.