Joe Flacco understood why he was demoted the first time this season by the New York Jets. But the second time? Not so much.
The veteran quarterback began the season as the starter because Zach Wilson was recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. When Wilson was cleared to play in Week 4, Flacco knew that his run as QB1 would end.
But after serving as Wilson’s backup for four weeks, Flacco was demoted to third string on the depth chart ahead of last week’s 22-17 Jets loss to the New England Patriots. It now appears that Mike White will back up Wilson the rest of the season.
“Of course, I was surprised and I'm disappointed about it, but at the same time, I gotta’ keep it about the team and not try to be a selfish guy,” Flacco said after practice Wednesday.
Joe Flacco says he was "surprised" by being demoted to third-string quarterback:
"Of course I was surprised and I'm disappointed about it, but at the same time, I gotta keep it about the team and not try to be a selfish guy" pic.twitter.com/ghww4AOKYK
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 2, 2022
The 37-year-old clearly was baffled about the move, though.
“There’s some kind of reason for it, but I’m not sure it’s my job to understand it,” he said.
Jets coach Robert Saleh explained the thinking behind the move earlier in the week. Saleh said that White was elevated into the backup role because he’s a young player who needs to be evaluated. White will receive more practice reps as the No. 2 quarterback and is next man up if Wilson is injured.
“We need to know what we have,” Saleh said of White.
Of course, Saleh said during training camp that Flacco is still a No. 1 QB in the NFL.
Flacco is 1-2 as New York’s starter this season. He threw for 901 yards and five touchdowns in his three starts. Four of those TDs came in a wild 31-30 comeback win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.
Wilson is 4-1 since returning, but the Jets have relied heavily on the run game in the past five games and the young quarterback has thrown five picks to three touchdowns. The 23-year-old came under heavy fire when he was intercepted three times against the Patriots.
Robert Saleh details how Zach Wilson can ignore the outside noise and focus on football:
"Once he figures out his swing, he's going to be really good" pic.twitter.com/o3pcaYBrot
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 2, 2022
White has not played a down this season. He was an instant folk hero when he led the Jets to a shocking 34-31 upset win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 last season. Filling in for the injured Wilson, White was 37-for-45 in the air for 405 yards. He threw three touchdown passes. White was 1-2 as a starter last season.
The Jets (5-3) host the Buffalo Bills (6-1) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Flacco will be wearing sweats not a Jets uniform, and he’ll be wondering why that’s the case.
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