Zach Wilson is inactive again on Sunday for the Jets, as Mike White will continue his opportunity to assert himself as the team’s starting quarterback moving forward.
Tiki Barber says that is what should happen if White has a repeat performance of last week’s win when New York faces the Vikings on Sunday, and that White’s position as starter could soon become much more of a lock than the Jets may have thought when they initially benched Wilson.
“When you have a kid that plays football at a smaller school like Western Kentucky, and he throws the 3,700 yards…he comes into the league, even though he was a low draft pick, with a ton of confidence. He’s very sure of himself,” Tiki said. “If Mike White keeps playing the way that he is, Mike White is the quarterback right now, for the rest of the season, and he might be the quarterback of the future.
“I think Mike White has a chance to do something that rarely happens. We saw it with Tom Brady, Russell Wilson. He has a chance to usurp a starting quarterback in Zach Wilson who was a No. 2 overall pick, because the last thing the Jets need is a quarterback controversy at any point this season. So Mike White is my guy for the rest of this season. No matter what.”
Of course, nobody is calling White the next Brady or Wilson, but both of those late draft picks started somewhere, so why can’t White’s story be starting with a seemingly temporary starting job over the team’s initial hopeful franchise cornerstone?
“I don’t know how you’re fixing Zach Wilson. There’s a confidence and reality about Mike White that if he plays these next couple of games at a high level, he’s their guy all year and might be their guy going into next year,” Tiki said. “Zach Wilson would have to earn it back in the offseason. Stop talking about him needing to play.”
Follow WFAN's midday team on Twitter: @TikiandTierney, @TikiBarber, @BrandonTierney, and @TheHoffWFAN
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
