Aaron Rodgers is the New York Jets quarterback now but that doesn’t mean Alex Smith will stop roasting them for how he perceives they mishandled Zach Wilson.
A former NFL quarterback who's now an analyst, Smith took shots at Jets coach Robert Saleh recently on NFL Network Radio.
“Yeah, Robert Saleh, you’re a great defensive mind and coordinator, but like you have no idea how to develop a quarterback,” Smith said. “The coordinator you hired (Mike LaFleur) never called plays. So that’s a completely different animal. And as much as you think you’re prepared to handle that development of a young kid, you’re just not.”
Wilson was the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and has been a major disappointment with the Jets. He was handed the starting job as a rookie and failed miserably. Things didn’t get better last season when he was benched twice in favor of Mike White.
Not first time Alex Smith blamed Robert Saleh
Last December, Smith took a swipe at how Saleh and the Jets were handling Wilson.
“The QB musical chairs weekly, like ‘You’re the starter this week, you’re the backup, you’re not dressing, no, you start this week, you’re not dressing.’ The lack of consistency, the lack of a plan that has been in place to develop Zach Wilson [is concerning],” Smith said on a Monday Night Football broadcast.
Before he mutually agreed to part ways with the Jets at the end of last season, LaFleur admitted they should have done things differently with Wilson. Most importantly, he said New York should have had a veteran quarterback on the roster to challenge Wilson for playing time and to mentor him, as well. Jets general manager Joe Douglas made similar comments to Pro Football Talk last week.
In Rodgers, the Jets now have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time for Wilson to learn from. Of course, there’s no competition for the starting job. Rodgers is No. 1 on the Jets depth chart. Wilson, who idolized Rodgers growing up, hopefully will learn valuable lessons watching the 39-year-old while serving as his backup.
Wilson is 8-14 in 22 games as a starter. The 23-year-old has completed just 55.2 percent of his passes and has thrown more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (15).