Jets' Garrett Wilson remains confident despite team's 0-4 start: 'This is where I want to win'
Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson is tackled by Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the second half of an NFL game on Monday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Rebecca Blackwell
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Garrett Wilson doesn’t want his legacy to be that he played for a team that never won, and he expressed confidence that he will win with the Jets.
Wilson has no regrets about signing a four-year, $130 million extension and remains steadfast in his belief that he will be a reason that things change for this franchise.
“This is where I want to be. This is where I want to win,” he said after practice Thursday. “It’s not about just winning. For me, it’s about where you do it at, what role did you play in it?
“I truly believe, because of the things that guys that have been around here have gone through these last few years and what we’re battling to get out of, it’ll make it that much more beautiful.”
Wilson is off to a great start with 27 catches for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He has put up big numbers since he was drafted in 2022, but the Jets are 17 games under .500 in that time. They’ll be trying to avoid an 0-5 start when they host the Cowboys on Sunday.
Wilson hates losing. He made it clear in the past with his actions and words, but he has kept his emotions and frustrations in check this season.
Being reunited with his college quarterback, Justin Fields, is one reason, but it’s more than that. Wilson is a captain for the first time and wants to send the right message to his teammates. He also sounds as if he has strong belief in first-year coach Aaron Glenn’s vision.
“We’re going to keep getting better is the way I see it,” Wilson said. “I just have faith in the plan that Coach has proposed to us, faith in my teammates that we’re going to turn this thing around. We’re going to get this thing rolling, and when it does, it’s going to feel really good.”
Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand have used nothing but superlatives to describe Wilson as a player and a competitor. They believe his passion can rub off on his teammates.
“He just wants to win so bad,” Engstrand said. “If everybody could get a little piece of that, which I think everybody is competing, but he’s just on that next level of wanting to win and get this thing going in the right direction, which we are.”
Some predicted Wilson would abandon the Jets’ ship last year. Things are rough again, but he sees smoother times ahead and wants part of his legacy to be that he helped the Jets get there.
“I just want to be known as resilient, someone that was out there for his teammates every week,” Wilson said. “Someone that took a lot of pride in being a part of the change. That’s all I really want.
“Someone that, when players around the league talk about me, they respect the way I played the game and the fact that they know what it took to get to the point that we’re eventually going to be at in this facility.”
Sauce: Waller got lucky
Sauce Gardner said Dolphins tight end Darren Waller “got lucky” when he caught a touchdown pass on him Monday night. Gardner said that’s his mentality “any time somebody catches the ball on me, especially if it’s for a touchdown.”
Gardner joked that the media “got lucky” when he said after the game that the Jets are officiated differently “based on us not winning.” He said he was speaking out of frustration.
“Y’all caught me in a rare moment when I was angry,” Gardner said. “Y’all caught me. Y’all got lucky.”
Allen to IR
Running back Braelon Allen (knee) was placed on injured reserve after getting hurt while returning a kickoff on Monday. Allen is out at least four games, possibly longer, and surgery is a possibility. Isaiah Davis will back up Breece Hall.
Jets sign Herbert
Needing running back depth, the Jets signed former Bear and Bengal Khalil Herbert. He has 400 career rushes for 1,905 yards and nine touchdowns. Herbert also adds value as a kick returner.
Returner Kene Nwangwu (hamstring) could miss his fourth straight game. The Jets might not use Isaiah Williams as a returner after he fumbled a kickoff on Monday and fair caught a punt at the 3-yard line.
“That’s something we’re still evaluating,” special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said.
Johnson still sidelined
Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (ankle) remains out of practice. He worked on a side field and is trending toward missing his third consecutive game.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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