Jets’ Robert Saleh confident if Joe Flacco needs to start Week 1 after Zach Wilson injury: ‘We have all the faith in the world in Joe’
Zach Wilson may not be ready to start the season for the Jets after suffering a non-contact meniscus tear in the preseason opener in New York.
However, the Jets aren’t too concerned about Wilson’s status ahead of Week 1. The team believes veteran backup Joe Flacco will be ready to step in if needed and keep the team afloat.
Jets coach Robert Saleh expressed his confidence in Flacco during the 2022 NFL offseason, saying that he felt the 37-year-old quarterback should still be an NFL-level starter. He reiterated his confidence in Flacco on Sunday.
“Joe is a pro. He was there, he did that. He was a Super Bowl MVP, a world champion. He got the big contracts. He checks all the boxes you can check,” Saleh said on the team’s official website. “I think he’s going to be fine, especially for the rest of the preseason. We’ll see everything else with Zach’s knee, but we have all the faith in the world in Joe.”
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It’s no surprise that Saleh is convinced of Flacco. The veteran quarterback has been with the Jets for most of the past three seasons. He originally signed with New York in 2020 before briefly joining the Eagles in 2021. The Jets traded back Flacco during the 2021 season and he has remained with the team ever since.
The role suited Flacco well, but he’s confident he could find success if pushed into the starting job during the regular season.
“I’m happy with my role. I love being here and fully focused on what I’m doing,” Flacco said. “After training, I want to be able to say that I had the best day I’ve ever had. That’s what I’m concentrating on at the moment. I’m happy with what I’m doing and I’m helping a young man. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have a desire to be good at what I do and didn’t believe I could play this game.”
For now, Flacco will serve as the Jets’ starter for the final two weeks of preseason and training camp, with Wilson on hiatus. But if he’s needed to start Week 1, he’s ready, even in what could be an emotional game for him.
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The Jets play the Ravens in the season opener. Flacco spent the first 11 years of his career in Baltimore and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl 47 win over the 49ers.
Flacco has never played against his former team. As such, he would relish the chance to face the Ravens and conceded that a game against them would mean more than a typical game.
“Obviously people are going to bring it to me,” Flacco said via SI.com. “I’ve been in a number of games where guys have played against their previous teams, coaches have played against their previous teams and usually the emotions are crazy. Boys act like they’re so cool during the week, ‘It doesn’t mean a thing.’
“I’ve probably thought about it a bit. It’s so far away and who knows what will happen at that point? But I’ve definitely thought about it and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s not going to be a big deal’, but deep down I’m going to try to make sure it’s not the biggest deal in the world, but I’ve been through it enough and seen how people went through it… it’s another matter.