After Aaron Rodgers’ injury, former BYU QB Zach Wilson takes over with ‘a lot of emotions’

Zach Wilson vowed to bide his time behind veteran Aaron Rodgers for as long he was the backup.

Turns out, it would only be for four snaps.

Rodgers, who was injured on the New York Jets’ first drive of the season, will likley miss the rest year, the team confirmed Tuesday.

That puts the ball back in Wilson’s hands.

On Monday, Jets undrafted rookie Xavier Gipson won the game on a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown in overtime. But Wilson led a fourth-quarter drive to tie the game with under five minutes to play. The former BYU quarterback found Garrett Wilson near the goal line for a touchdown. The ball was thrown ahead of the receiver, but Wilson made a one-handed grab.

“Zach rallied the troops. He took that step in the locker room,” Garrett Wilson said on ESPN after the game. “... Zach brought us together and that is everything we needed today.”

Wilson finished 14-of-21 with one touchdown and one interception. He was under heavy pressure for most of the night.

“My job as a quarterback is I’ve got to step up,” Wilson said. “I’ve got to be as efficient as I can in that offense. Just a lot of emotions.”

Wilson praised the work Rodgers did with him during the offseason and training camp, helping him feel “a lot more prepared” to take the next step in his development.

“The hardest part is now putting it into a game and I’ve got to be able to do that,” Wilson said Monday night. “Going into this week, it’s applying everything that he’s kind of helped walk us through and being able to watch him and the coaches, how they’ve handled this offense. I’ve got to be able to handle that efficiently.”

The Jets said they would explore some options in free agency, but head coach Robert Saleh put his support behind Wilson.

“We are going to look through some things, but I do want to make it very clear: Zach’s our quarterback,” Saleh said. “We’ve got a lot of faith in Zach. We’re really excited about his opportunity, but we’re rolling with Zach and excited for this and excited for him.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.