The Jets and head coach Robert Saleh made a surprise move on Wednesday, confirming that veteran Joe Flacco would be starting under center when New York takes on the division rival Dolphins on Sunday.
With Zach Wilson still not 100 percent recovered from his PCL sprain, Flacco and Mike White seemed like the two options, and Saleh elected to go with a veteran presence that he feels will be better equipped to handle Miami’s pressure, which held Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to just 10 points last week.
“One of the reasons why we went and got Joe was for the experience part of it,” Saleh said. “Not only for the playing ability and for the room, but also for situations just like this. Miami’s got a dynamic coverage system...and Joe’s kind of been there, done that. Just a steadying experience that we felt would put us in the best position to win.”
Just two days before announcing Flacco as the starter, Saleh defended White, who threw four interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the Bills, just two weeks after exploding onto the scene by throwing for 405 yards in his first career start. Saleh told reporters on Monday that White “was anointed the next coming after one game, and now everyone wants to throw him away.” Saleh said White “deserves better than that,” but White will now be on the bench come Sunday.
“I want to be very, very clear on this one,” Saleh said Wednesday. “My comments on Monday were because people wanted him out of New York. What Mike has done in three weeks as a started has proven to this entire organization, and, in my opinion, to the entire New York fanbase, that he is a capable quarterback who can play in this league and do a lot of good things.”
So, while White will return to a backup role after three starts, Saleh wants it known that New York is not giving up on the 26-year-old.
“We’re more excited about Mike as a quarterback in our future, and working with Mike for as many years as possible, because of what he’s been able to do in his three starts,” Saleh said. “Mike has only strengthened his case, because he took what he did in OTAs and training camp and throughout the preseason, and used these three weeks to solidify what we thought about him.”
That could leave the door open for White to start later this season, but with Wilson likely being ready by next weekend, it could be it for what was a very dynamic, but very brief, Mike White hysteria in New York. Now, it will be Flacco’s turn.
“This particular situation with Miami obviously presents a completely different challenge,” Saleh said. “This is why we brought in a guy like Joe, for situations just like this, and his experience to be able to play systems of Miami’s caliber.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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