Robert Saleh Addresses The Zach Wilson Contract Situation
The New York Jets are set to open training camp without arguably the most important player on the roster. Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, remains unsigned.
The fact that the situation has dragged on this long is a bit of a surprise. NFL Draft pick contracts are more or less predetermined. Wilson is set to make $35.1 million over four years, with $22.9 million guaranteed. The Jets will have a fifth-year option for Wilson as well.
The biggest hangups for first-rounders often come in offset language that teams attempt to put into the deal. Offsets would allow the team to recoup some money if a player is cut and signs with another team. Without offsets, a player that is released will receive his full guaranteed money from his former team, and can sign a new deal elsewhere without that salary counting against what the previous team owed him. It isn’t totally clear if this is the holdup for Zach Wilson and the Jets, but reports point to it as the most logical answer.
It isn’t an ideal situation for Wilson to miss the start of training camp, or for first-year head coach Robert Saleh to be without his franchise quarterback and likely Week 1 starter. He’s keeping his cool, putting his faith in general manager Joe Douglas, and isn’t worried about how it will impact things moving forward.
“No, I mean, this is business,” Saleh said, via ProFootballTalk. “And Joe’s got a great handle on everything. When it gets done, it gets done.”
“I’ve got a lot of faith in Zach, too. He’s incredibly intelligent, he’s got a tremendous drive. So when he does get here, I know that somehow, some way, he’ll make up for it.”
With Zach Wilson absent, the team has veteran journeymen James Morgan and Mike White in camp. Needless to say, the sooner that the team gets the former BYU star in camp and under center, the better.
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