Jets coach Robert Saleh was not ready to name a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins when he spoke to the media on Monday, but he did deliver a vote of confidence for Mike White.
White threw four interceptions in a 45-17 loss to the Bills on Sunday and saw his star fall after a magical ride over the last two weeks. Even after the dismal performance, Saleh said he still believes in White and questioned those who are ready to write White off after one bad game.
“I still have got a lot of confidence in Mike,” Saleh said. “Again, this market fascinates me in the sense that he was anointed the next coming after one game, and now everyone wants to throw him away. He deserves better than that. Did he play his best? No. Is he capable of playing better? Absolutely. That defense, give them a lot of credit. They’ve made a lot of people look really bad. And they’re pretty frickin’ good. They’ve been together for four years, they’re so precise in how they operate. So, credit to them. But I haven’t lost faith in Mike at all.”
Robert Saleh wouldn’t commit to Zach Wilson’s (2) return or Mike White’s (5) stint as a starter coming to a close. Bill KostrounWhite has started the last three games for the Jets in place of Zach Wilson, who sprained the PCL in his right knee on Oct. 24 against the Patriots. Wilson returned to practice last week, but the Jets said he was still not ready to play and he was inactive for Sunday’s loss.
Saleh was not ready to say whether Wilson will be ready for the Dolphins on Sunday.
“I’ll get a better feel by the end of [Monday] and as we work into Wednesday, just to see where he is mentally and physically,” Saleh said. “I haven’t gotten a chance to get through the injury update quite yet, the full injury update with regards to Zach. I’ll have a much better idea come Wednesday.”
Saleh was asked whether Wilson, if 100 percent healthy, will automatically get the start over White, who threw for 405 yards in his first start on Oct. 31 against the Bengals.
“That’s a fair question, but I promise you I’ve been digesting so much stuff this morning that I haven’t even gotten to the quarterback part of it yet,” Saleh said. “So, I’ll have a much better idea come Wednesday.”
