Zach Wilson ready to take reins as Jets starting QB: 'It's about trusting the guys around me'

Zach Wilson is putting his trust in his teammates and coaches just as the New York Jets are set to put their trust in him.

Wilson is taking over as is starting quarterback yet again for the Jets after Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Rodgers was injured on New York's first possession on its Monday night season opener against the Buffalo Bills.

While speaking with the media on Thursday, Wilson explained his mindset taking over the team after the four-time MVP went down.

"One step at a time, one play at a time and I think it's trusting the guys around me," the third-year quarterback said. "I think they've shown this past week how explosive, how dynamic guys are. Relying on this good defense that we have and I think it's going out there, taking it, like I said, one play at a time, trusting in my footwork, trusting in what the coaches have been talking about and we'll go from there."

Wilson was 14-of-21 for 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception as the Jets rallied to beat the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime. Last year, he had a 5-1 stretch after taking over for Joe Flacco and then was benched after a poor outing against the New England Patriots.

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"How I can go out there and play football will earn that trust back from those guys and I would say I have a very good relationship with everybody in this locker room," he said. "We joke around, we eat lunch together, we go out for O-line - QB dinners. And so I would always feel like the guys in this locker room have my back just like I got their back no matter what."

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Head coach Robert Saleh has been insistent throughout the week that he is committed to Wilson as the starting quarterback, noting the 24-year-old's growth over the past year.

"From a mental standpoint, he's so much different than this time a year ago," Saleh said on Tuesday. "He's in a great frame of mind, he's loving the game of football, he's loving the process that he's going through. He's got a lot of confidence. All the little things that we saw in college that he was struggling with a year ago are not the same struggles that he had. He's fixed a lot of things, a lot of things. And so we're very excited about him."

Wilson echoed his coach's words.

"We get to play football for a living," he said, "so we gotta have fun with it."

The Jets play the Dallas Cowboys in Texas on Sunday.

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