The New York Jets have made a change at quarterback ahead of their Black Friday game against the Miami Dolphins. The AFC East matchup will now see Tim Boyle start his first game for the Jets with Trevor Siemian as his backup.
Zach Wilson has been demoted to third-string QB after failing to impress in his 10 games in 2023. Wilson only became the starter when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.
Here is how the Jets quarterback depth chart now looks ahead of their Black Friday clash.
New York Jets QB Depth Chart
The Jets pinned all their hopes for the 2023 NFL season on Rodgers. The future Hall of Famer was supposed to be the guy to take New York over the hump with a roster that they felt was ready to win a Super Bowl. But on his first drive of the new NFL season, Rodgers went down with a serious injury that was to end the former MVP’s season.
In recent weeks, Rodgers has reported that he might be ready before the end of the season. In his regular slot on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers told McAfee, “I’d love to be trending towards practicing by my birthday.” Rodgers’ birthday falls on Dec. 2 when he turns 40 years old.
We are still waiting to see how likely Rodgers is to take the field in 2023, but until then, the Jets need a quarterback to keep them in the hunt.
Tim Boyle
Boyle is now the starter for New York as they face their divisional rivals, the Dolphins, in the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game.
Speaking on why he decided to move ahead with Boyle, Jets HC Robert Saleh said, “We just want to give him an opportunity. He has a different style of quarterback. It’s really to allow him to see if we can do something with the offense.”
Boyle entered the NFL in 2018 and has been around the league, making a name for himself as a backup option.
Starting as a UDFA in Green Bay, Boyle has also played for the Lions and Bears, with the Jets being his first voyage outside the NFC North. In his 18 NFL appearances, Boyle has a shocking stat line of just three touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
Boyle’s record of turning the ball over even goes back to his college career. He went to both UConn and Eastern Kentucky, where his ratio was 12 touchdowns to 26 interceptions.
It seems for the Jets that simply not being Zach Wilson was enough for Boyle to be elevated to the starting role. But having spent two seasons with Rodgers and OC Nathaniel Hackett in Green Bay, Boyle knows and understands the system. We’ll see if he has enough to revitalize New York’s offense.
Trevor Siemian
Trevor Siemian has also been elevated to a backup quarterback in New York, which further dents Wilson’s credibility.
Siemian has sat on the Jets’ practice squad since September and was elevated to the team as late as Nov. 21. He has had a journeyman career, starting 30 games, since being drafted in 2015.
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A seventh-round pick for the Denver Broncos, Siemian was named the starter heading into the 2016 season with the retirement of Peyton Manning. His Broncos career never took off, however, and has led to him moving around the league in various backup roles.
With stops at the Vikings, Jets, Titans, Saints, Bears, Bengals, and now back with the Jets, Siemian has plenty of experience.
Zach Wilson
Wilson has gone from being the Jets’ starter to the third-string QB in just one week. After an ugly performance in a Week 11 loss to Buffalo, Wilson was ultimately benched.
In truth, he may have been lucky to last this far into the season, with Jets fans calling for Wilson to be replaced weeks earlier.
The season has gone badly for him. With only six touchdowns to seven interceptions, Wilson has validated the Jets’ pursuit of Rodgers in the first place.
With a completion percentage of 59.2 and an average QB rating of 73.8, he just hasn’t been able to kick-start the Jets into life.
With the Jets’ roster set up to make a run, all Wilson needed to do was be competent. He’s failed in that quest and hasn’t been able to do so in his entire NFL career. It appears a leopard never changes its spots, leading to a growing sense that New York’s staff had been growing frustrated with Wilson.
In Saleh’s post-game press conference after the Jets’ blowout Week 11 loss to the Bills, it was clear that those frustrations were leaking out. When pressed on the quarterback discussion, Saleh said, “Obviously, he’s got to get better. There are things that he could have done a lot better.”
The No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson’s career has not gone the way the Jets had hoped, and his NFL future looks to be hanging in the balance.
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