After losing a 32-6 dud to the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets benched Zach Wilson. The benching came ten games into the year with Wilson at quarterback and ahead of their Black Friday matchup against the Miami Dolphins. The Jets will now start Tim Boyle versus the Dolphins and use Trevor Siemian as the backup quarterback. Wilson has been demoted to the third-stringer.

Following the announcement, Aaron Rodgers defended Wilson and the situation he was put in.

“I feel for Zach, I love Zach, and he's such a great kid,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I do think he still has a bright future in the league. This has been a tough go for all of us, a lot of times in these situations there's certain guys they got to scapegoat … this was obviously not the way any of us thought this was going to go down. It was gonna be me and my show, and Zach getting to learn and watch it firsthand and not have the pressure to go out there and play. Obviously, this is disappointing and I have some personal guilt around the whole thing and I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to play.”

Though this might not have been the ideal situation for Zach Wilson, it's also understandable if the Jets want to look forward. After all, Wilson is a former No. 2 overall pick who's gotten multiple opportunities, not necessarily a long term development project. This isn't to say he has no shot, but that the Jets aren't wrong in moving on after the Wilson-led Jets are just 4-6 and ranked third-last in total yards, passing yards and points per game.