The Jets saw backup quarterback Mike White toss his first NFL touchdown pass on his first actual pass attempt Sunday, but it came at a price: a right knee injury that knocked Zach Wilson out of the game less than three minutes into the second quarter.
Wilson, who was 6-of-10 for 51 yards before exiting, said he felt a pop in his knee on the play, where he was taken down by New England’s Matthew Judon just after releasing a long pass attempt to Keelan Cole.
“I threw the ball and I think my front foot got stuck in the ground. (Judon) just fell on it with all his weight, and it felt like it twisted and I felt a pop in there,” Wilson said. “I was thinking of the worst scenario in my head, which sucks, but getting it checked out and hopefully it’ll be alright. It’s obviously frustrating, but injuries are part of the game of football.”
That hit was the second on the day that some may have thought came a little late or a little more aggressive than necessary but didn’t draw a flag, but Wilson didn’t think this one was dirty in any way.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that; I don’t think he had tried to hurt me,” Wilson said. “The first one where he went for my knees, I don’t know if he had any other option, but injuries are just part of the game.”
Wilson actually had a bad-looking bend to his left knee on the play before, but he said he was actually fine after that one – and actually wanted to go back in after the final play.
“It’s frustrating, and I asked to go back in, but once they said the best thing to do is not play and find out what’s wrong, I just sat in there on my phone and watched the game,” Wilson said. “I just tried to see everything that was going on and wanted the best for those guys. I was doing some icing and stim and cooling down a bit, but it was obviously frustrating.”
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Feeling a pop sounds like a worst-case scenario, but while Wilson will undergo an MRI, he’s confident it’s not a long-term issue, perhaps an injury to his PCL as has been speculated.
“That’s what we’ve heard so far, and might be the best-case scenario,” he said. “The pain isn’t there, it just feels like something’s a little off as far as being loose or unstable a little bit. You know when it’s different so I knew something had happened, and I didn’t feel like I could move it at first while I tried to figure out what was going on.”
In his mind, though, he’s not ready to miss several weeks.
“We’ll get the MRI to clear up things, but I’m definitely not planning on that,” Wilson said. “I’m hoping I can get in there and do what I can to make sure everything’s good and get back as fast as possible. Once we get these results, I’ll hit the rehab full-on, find out what I’m capable of doing, and try and get back as fast as possible.”
The Jets are seemingly as optimistic as Wilson is.
“We’ll know more tomorrow; initially we feel good, but you never know,” Saleh said.
White, who replaced Wilson for his first career game action, finished 20 of 32 for 202 yards, with the one touchdown and two interceptions.
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