It was a busy day in the NFL on Wednesday as multiple starting quarterback changes were made around the league. Two second-year quarterbacks in, Zach Wilson of the Jets and Davis Mills of the Texans, were both demoted from starting jobs, and veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield was once again benched from the starting QB role in his first season with the Panthers.
The Jets find themselves at a different tier than the Texans and Panthers as New York currently sits at 6-4 on the season while the Panthers find themselves at 3-8 and the Texans are a league-worse 1-8-1.
The Jets find themselves in an interesting predicament as they are currently a step ahead in their rebuilding timeline; they have been one of the best teams in the league this season due largely to the tremendous performance of their defense, game in and game out.
What’s tricky for the Jets is that since they feel they can compete this season, they may think that they cannot afford to wait for Zach Wilson to develop and instead put in someone they believe gives them a better chance to win right now than in the future.
Breaking: During a team meeting minutes ago, Jets players were informed that Zach Wilson is not starting Sunday's game vs. the Chicago Bears, sources tell ESPN.
Wilson — who had a 5-2 record as a starting QB this season, with both losses coming vs. the Pats — is being benched. pic.twitter.com/fdl3mBmIHq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 23, 2022
The team selected Wilson with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. With solely 20 games under his belt, Wilson has not been given enough time to show what he can do in the league; however, due to the Jets winning ways, they feel a change is needed for their offense to improve and help the defense lead to even more wins.
"The defense was outstanding." pic.twitter.com/Q1t9pyP1Pq
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 20, 2022
The surprise to many came as to who will start in place of Wilson, with many thinking it would likely be Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco due to his experience and leadership; as a surprise to many, the team named Mike White as their starting quarterback for their week twelve matchup against the Bears. White started in three games last season in place of Wilson due to injury, including leading a fourth-quarter comeback against the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
As for Houston, Mills, who was selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, has played in just 23 games and is in a worse situation than Wilson; also, it seems a little surprising due to the Texans being in a complete rebuild; many would think why not just give him until the rest of the season, rather than benching him after playing for two different head coaches in two years and having arguably the worse environment around him. However, it seems as if Houston has had enough and feel a change is needed.
Kyle Allen is starting against Miami. If Davis Mills is starting again, Lovie Smith wouldn't try to make it such a mystery. Allen will follow Mills, who followed Tyrod Taylor last season. Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud will be the starter in 2023.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) November 23, 2022
The Texans announced that veteran quarterback Kyle Allen will be starting in place of Mills for the Texans week twelve matchup in Miami against Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. Allen has started 17 games in his career, including a career-high twelve games in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers, in which the team went 5-7, and Allen threw 17 touchdowns.
Speaking of the Panthers, the team announced their third starting quarterback change of the season as former Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold will be Carolina’s signal-caller for their week twelve matchup against the Broncos. Darnold is coming off injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury and will be given the opportunity to be QB1 in the first game of the season in which he is healthy. Of the three moves, this may be the least surprising due to the unsuccessful play of the Panthers passing offense with Baker Mayfield and P.J. Walker.
It is very rare to see so many quarterback changes at this point in the season, as well as three teams making these significant changes on the same day.
Let us know what you think about these three quarterback changes by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
