Aaron Rodgers has 'personal guilt' about how things ended for Zach Wilson with the Jets

Aaron Rodgers says he feels guilty he became injured, thrusting Zach Wilson back into the New York Jets starting quarterback job, and he believes the 2021 No. 2 pick still has a bright future in the NFL.

The Jets benched Wilson and demoted him to third-string quarterback this week. Tim Boyle will start, and Trevor Siemian will be the backup when the Jets host the Miami Dolphins on Black Friday.

"This was obviously not the way any of us thought it was going to go down. It was going to be me and my show, and Zach getting to learn and watch it firsthand and not having the pressure to go out there and play," Rodgers said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

"Obviously, this is disappointing. I have some personal guilt around the whole thing. I’m pissed I wasn’t able to play and frustrated. If I was out there, I’d feel like we were playing well. There would obviously be different narratives about our team and Zach would have the opportunity to learn and grow and see what it looks like without the pressure on and being able to sit in those meetings and go through the season and just watch me and my process. So, I’m disappointed and sad about that.

"We’re all going to support Tim and move forward. But we’re also going to put our arms around Zach and love on him because he’s a great kid. And it’s not all his fault. And this is the way it goes sometimes," Rodgers added.

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The Jets hoped Rodgers would be their savior at quarterback, but his Achilles tear in the season opener on Sept. 11 has been detrimental to their season. The Jets are 4-6 and in third place in the AFC East, ahead of the 2-8 New England Patriots, but trailing the Dolphins (7-3) and Buffalo Bills (6-5).

Rodgers has faith in the Jets’ new starter in Boyle, who was his backup with the Green Bay Packers from 2018-20. But Rodgers was also adamant the Jets’ woes this season don’t not fall solely on Wilson.

"I’m happy for Tim. Tim is a great dude. … Tim has always been an expert of the offense and understood all the intricacies. Now he has to go out there and execute and do it at a high level," Rodgers said.

"We need a spark. And I feel for Zach. I love Zach. Zach is a great kid. And I do feel like he does have a bright future in this league. This has been a tough go for him and all of us. A lot of times in these situations, there are certain guys they have to scapegoat. And I think there’s enough blame to go around at a number of different positions. If you have 10 guys doing right on a play, and one guy not, it’s hard to be efficient."

Wilson has an 11-20 record as Jets starter since being selected with the No. 2 pick out of BYU in 2021. He has completed 56.6% of his passes for 5,966 yards with 21 touchdowns, 25 interceptions and a 71.9 quarterback rating. But he has been sacked 105 times in 32 games during his three-season career.

Boyle has played in 18 games over five seasons during his NFL career, completing 73 of 120 passes for 607 yards, three touchdowns and nine interceptions. He is 0-3 in three previous starts. Boyle went undrafted in 2018 after playing at UConn (2013-15) and Eastern Kentucky (2016-17) in college. In addition to the Packers, he also spent time with the Detroit Lions (2021-22) and Chicago Bears (2022) before joining the Jets this season.