As the New York Jets clash with the Miami Dolphins for a Week 4 contest, there was an eye-opening storyline coming out of the close 29-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Jets start 0-3 after losing to the Buccaneers, quarterback Baker Mayfield made a comment that prompted a response by defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
After the win for Tampa Bay, Mayfield spoke about how the game was personal for him, saying, “their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina.” That was in reference to Wilks, who was the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers at the time when Mayfield was waived in December of 2022.
Wilks would be asked about this on Friday as the defensive coordinator started by praising Mayfield, but negating the notion that he was the one who cut him on the Panthers, according to ESPN.
“A lot of respect for Baker [Mayfield],” Wilks said. “[He's a] tremendous football player, and he's doing a hell of a job with those guys down there. So nothing really to say beyond that.”
“I don't know how long you've been doing this,” Wilks continued to a reporter. “But I'm sure you're quite educated on it. I don't really think an interim coach has that much authority over personnel. If that's the case, I would've never gotten rid of our best player. Christian McCaffrey.”
Jets' Aaron Glenn on the 0-3 start
Moving on now to the Dolphins for Monday night, Jets quarterback Justin Fields has been practicing, but remains in concussion protocol, putting his status for the game still in question. Still, the team is 0-3, but head coach Aaron Glenn would see improvements.
“These guys, they fought their a** off,” Glenn said after the loss, via Zack Rosenblatt. “The thing is, we didn't do anything different when it comes to mentality and what we were trying to do…I mean, there's just small, critical things that we got to get better, and we will do that. But today showed me a lot about who we were as a team and who we're going to be, also.”
“There's no such thing as moral victory when it comes to us, and we're not the same team,” Glenn continued. “We're not the same team at all. And I'm looking forward to our next challenge, which will be against Miami.”
New York looks for their first win on Monday against Miami.
