Desmond Ridder’s seat heating up, Ryan Tannehill washed?

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh has been telling anyone who would listen since future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles that Zach Wilson is their guy despite him making the unfortunate history of being the only player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to rank dead last in passer rating in consecutive seasons (69.7 in 2021 and 72.8 in 2022). Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas need him to look somewhat competent in this season-long addition since they went all in on selecting him second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Wilson checked the competent box in Week 4, totaling 245 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 28 of 39 passing for a 105.2 passer rating in a 23-20 loss against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football.” Sunday night marked the first game of Wilson’s career in which he had multiple passing touchdowns and no interceptions in a game. His opponent, Patrick Mahomes — the reigning NFL and Super Bowl MVP — threw for 203 passing yards while also accumulating a touchdown and two interceptions on 18 of 30 passing for a 63.6 passer rating. Those statistics led to Wilson being the first quarterback to have more completions, more passing yards, more passing touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Mahomes in a game opposite the two-time Super Bowl champion across his 127 starts in college and the NFL, according to OptaStats. This performance led to Cowboys All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons to stand up for Wilson when retired NFL safety Rodney Harrison, a current NBC Sports analyst, put down the Jets third-year quarterback on national television after “Sunday Night Football.”

Between former Packers backup Tim Boyle and journeyman Trevor Siemian being the other options in the Jets quarterback room for now and the draft capital invested in Wilson, the BYU alum is the least likely to be tossed aside among the passers in jeopardy of losing their jobs.