Robert Saleh Could Only ‘Plead The Fifth’ When Asked Why The Jets Aren’t Trying QBs Other Than Zach Wilson

The New York Jets offense floundered once again on Monday night in a 27-6 loss to the Chargers that saw their defense once again hold its own against a top quarterback, but not get anything close to the support it needed to win the game.

Ever since Aaron Rodgers went down with an Achilles injury four plays into the season, Zach Wilson has been back under center and looked an awful lot like the same Zach Wilson that struggled his first two years in the league. That the Jets are 4-4 is a minor miracle, but the offense is just a disaster. Wilson bears the brunt of the criticism and understandably so, as he has not been good, but the offensive line has been a mess and the skill position players beyond Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson have offered little in the way of support.

Still, the focus will always be on the quarterback and the Jets’ almost odd commitment to Wilson despite the growing evidence he is not the answer. On Tuesday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh was on The Michael Kay Show and got asked about why other options weren’t considered, both in adding a better backup this offseason and in at least trying Trevor Siemian. Saleh considered his options before pleading the fifth, which is maybe a first for a coach interview.

The full answer can be found at the 7:31 clip of this YouTube video here, and it doesn’t really make a much stronger case for Saleh’s belief in Wilson.

“No, I got you,” Saleh said. “No, it’s a — and again, fair question. And uh, you know, it’s uh, like I said, I dunno, you got me. Something to that. I’m gonna plead the fifth on all this one in terms of just uh, I’ve kind of explained it, respectfully, obviously. But these are valid questions, and I know for fans who are passionate all having the same questions, I respect it greatly. I’ve gotta look at it from a global standpoint, and just see where we are, and just look at the all-22 the best I can and make the decision as best as possible.”

You know things are going well when a coach pleads the fifth and then starts talking in corporate gibberish, saying things like “look at it from a global standpoint.” I don’t blame Saleh here, because he can’t throw Wilson under the bus, Siemian almost assuredly isn’t the answer given what we’ve seen from him in his career, and it certainly seems as if there’s some weird dynamics at play between the staff, players, ownership, and the front office that we don’t really know. He’s also right that these are all good questions, the problem is the Jets don’t have any good answers and for Saleh it’s just better for his job to not offer one of the bad ones.