Last week in this space, we wrote about a potentially historically good 2022 NFL Draft by New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas as Gang Green has the betting favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year in receiver Garrett Wilson and the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year in cornerback Sauce Gardner. Both were first-round picks.
New York Jets’ Week 1 2023 Starting Quarterback Odds
Who will the Jets turn to at quarterback next season?
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It’s a good thing Douglas got such a great haul because his 2021 draft might go down in infamy for selecting BYU quarterback Zach Wilson at No. 2 overall instead of perhaps Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who went No. 11 overall to Chicago and looks like an emerging star with the Bears.
Rock bottom for the disappointing Wilson came in Week 16 when New York lost 19-3 at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was the Jets’ fourth straight loss, and they are now long shots to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Wilson was just 9-for-18 for 92 yards with a pick and three sacks when he was pulled for relative unknown Chris Streveler, who was only promoted from the practice squad prior to the game. The New York offense looked much better with the former CFL player under center.
Has Wilson played his final game with the franchise? Let’s break down the betting favorites to be New York’s Week 1 starting QB in 2023.
White Back This Week
New York Jets quarterback Mike White (5) against the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, in Seattle, Wash. Seahawks won 23-6. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
Mike White had started at quarterback in Weeks 12-14 but suffered fractured ribs on Dec. 11 in Buffalo and wasn’t cleared by doctors to play in the past two weeks. He has been cleared for Week 17 in Seattle, however, and will start. White is 1-2 as the starter this year, with 952 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He is the +200 favorite to be the Week 1 starter next year, but the Jets would have to re-sign the pending free agent.
Wilson is the +250 second favorite and his four-year, $35.1 million contract is guaranteed because he was a first-round pick. Thus, it would make no sense for the team to release Wilson while still having to pay him. Could he be traded? Possibly, but Wilson’s value is incredibly low at the moment.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is also a free-agent-to-be and is +400 on this prop. There’s almost no chance he returns to the Niners because Trey Lance is their future – unless rookie Brock Purdy is.
Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr is the +1000 fourth favorite, and there is talk the Silver & Black might move on from him with the team so disappointing this year. Carr has a $32.9 million salary for 2023 but with no full guarantees. He could either be released or dealt.
Kentucky’s Will Levis (+1200), Ohio State’s CJ Stroud (+1400) and Alabama’s Bryce Young (+1600) all will be early first-round picks in the 2023 draft. Would the Jets actually go that route again just two years after failing with Wilson?
Aaron Rodgers is +2000, but he figures to either stay in Green Bay or retire. Tom Brady is +6600, and it’s possible he decides to keep playing in 2023 but somewhere other than Tampa Bay.
