Shannon Sharpe Suggests Jets QB Zach Wilson Should Take a Break and Go ‘Cougar Hunting’ After Stellar Performance By Backup QB
Former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe took a personal swipe at New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson after Jets’ backup quarterback Mike White outperformed in Sunday’s game.
Wilson was benched for the Jets’ game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday after he refused to take responsibility for the Jets’ loss the week prior against the New England Patriots. Wilson was heavily criticized by many for his lack of accountability.
White had served as the Jets’ backup quarterback throughout the first 11 weeks of the season before he got the call to start. In Sunday’s game, White completed 22 of 28 passes for 315 yards and threw three touchdown passes with no interceptions in a 31-10 win for the Jets.
On Monday’s Undisputed, Sharpe explained to co-host Skip Bayless that he saw enough from White that he should be named the starting quarterback for the Jets and that Wilson, who the Jets took with the 2nd pick in the 2021 NFL draft, should assume the backup role.
“This is Mike White’s job for the foreseeable future,” Sharpe said. “At least until this year, Skip. He did a great job; he got guys involved. If you look at the offense and how it looked compared to what it looked like with Zach Wilson, it looked like night and day different.”
Sharpe elaborated on how different the Jets’ players looked after the game and how the team played much better with White as their quarterback.
“Skip, did you see everybody how excited they were after the game?” Sharpe added. “They know they ain’t winning the Super Bowl, but ‘my man, we got a chance.'”
Sharpe, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, knows what wide receivers want from their quarterbacks when they take the field.
“Because receivers, Skip, I want to win, but at least I want a chance when if I go out there and run a good route, the guy can get me the ball,” Sharpe continued. “He’s not going to skip it to me. He’s not going to throw it ten feet over my head. You want a quarterback that guys are excited about playing with.”
Sharpe believed the Jets forced the team to try and create chemistry, but the chemistry between Wilson and his teammates is non-existent. Sharpe was particularly impressed with White’s numbers because the game was played through the rain on Sunday.
“And you look at the way he was throwing the football in those conditions,” Sharpe said. “Skip, it wasn’t like it was 75 and sunny, and he was spinning it like he was in a phone booth.”
In the summer, it was reported that Wilson had a relationship with one of his mother’s friends. The story became public after Wilson’s ex-girlfriend, Abbey Gile, accused the Jets quarterback of the affair in a comment on Instagram. Sharpe decided to bring up the alleged affair and thought Wilson should try to find another older woman to have a relationship with.
“I’m sorry, Zach, you might have to go cougar hunting again,” Sharpe said with a chuckle. “But you ain’t getting that job back unless Mike White does something unforeseen, knock on wood, that doesn’t happen.
Watch above via Fox Sports 1.
