Connor Hughes, The Athletic: Starting quarterback?
Robert Saleh: Mike is starting, Mike White.
Hughes: What went into that decision, can you just elaborate on that?
Saleh: Same thing. We had a feeling on Monday with Zach’s knee that he’s not fully ready to go. Mike, obviously, got all his strength back. He feels good, no residual effects from Thursday, so we’re going with Mike.
Hughes: With Zach not all the way back, could that potentially linger into next week as well? Or do you guys feel really confident about next week?
Saleh: We’ll see. It is a two-to-four-week injury, obviously. He’s trending in the right direction. We’ll see how he practices this week, which was always the goal, and see how he feels coming out of this week.
Brian Costello, New York Post: What will he do, Robert, in practice? Zach?
Saleh: Everything. Individual, he’s going to run the show team, he’ll take reps with the offense, basically a normal practice for him.
Al Iannazzone, Newsday: Will he be activated? Will he be your backup this week, or do you just have to wait to see?
Saleh: Probably going to roll with Joe Flacco on this one.
Bob Glauber, Newsday: Do you feel like things will sort themselves out in terms of the quarterback, longer term, two-three weeks that you’ll know what to do and you’ll know what’s right? Or might things get a little weird if Mike continues to do well and Zach is ready?
Saleh: So, I think it’s going to happen organically. If Mike does phenomenal like we think he’s going to do, that’s not weird, that’s awesome to me, in the sense that quarterback is a precious commodity in this league, and we feel like we’ve got four really good ones. To answer your question, I think it’ll all take care of itself, we just have to let it play out.
Iannazzone: How do you handle that in terms of, everything has been about Zach for the most part, his development. But if Mike gives you the best chance to win, how do you handle that going forward?
Saleh: First, you handle the things you’ve got control over and you just have to be cognizant of the entire organization. Joe (Douglas) and myself are committed to doing whatever is best for this entire organization and that includes every player in this organization. There’s always that commitment. There are 52 players on the roster, or 51 other players on the roster, and then practice squad and all that stuff. So, always sitting down, taking a deep breath, ignore all the outside noise and make the decision that’s best for the organization moving forward and the development of the entire team.
*
To subscribe to the monthly Jets Confidential Magazine, click below, or call 1-800-932-4557 (M-F, 12-4). New issue out now.
