Last week, Joe Benigno was ready to replace Joe Flacco with Mike White.
Now, he thinks the job is Flacco’s until he deserves to lose it – not just when Zach Wilson is healthy.
A heel turn for the ages.
Flacco was underwhelming in the New York Jets’ Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but rebounded in a big way in Week 2, leading an impressive late comeback over the Cleveland Browns. The veteran signal-caller finished with 307 yards in the air, connecting on 26 of his 44 attempts with four touchdowns. He also did a fine job getting the Jets’ young skill players, namely Garrett Wilson, involved in the offense.
So when Benigno appeared on “Tiki & Tierney” on Monday, he advocated for the Jets to keep letting Flacco run the show.
“I’m gonna blow your mind with this comment: Joe Flacco is the quarterback until further notice. That’s it,” Benigno said. “Until I see Joe Flacco – he’s got to play against the Bengals, I don’t care if Wilson is healthy or not. Joe Flacco has earned the start next week against Cincinnati.
“I could care less who my quarterback is, I want to win. If you tell me that I’m getting 10 or 11 wins, nine wins from Joe Flacco, then he’s the quarterback. I don’t care (how that impacts Wilson). I want to win football games, I don’t give a you-know-what about who my quarterback is. I really don’t. And I don't know if Wilson is any good. Wilson does not win the game yesterday.”
Now, if there’s anything we know about Flacco, especially at this point in his career, it’s that it’s quite plausible he comes back down to earth sooner than later.
Further, Wilson still is on track for a Week 4 return, so the Jets choosing between the second-year quarterback and Flacco is not an issue they should run into this week. By the time they need to address that, they should have more of a sample size to base Flacco's performance off of. Unless he's playing at an otherworldly level, the Jets just going back to Wilson when he's healthy seems like the likeliest course.
But for now, the Jets have to be happy with the direction things are heading in as they prepare to face the reigning AFC champs, who sit winless through two games.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram