Joe Flacco will start at quarterback for the New York Jets in their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday.
Flacco, New York’s backup, will play instead of starter Zach Wilson, who is still recovering from a knee injury suffered during the preseason.
Jets coach Robert Saleh confirmed Wednesday that Flacco will start against Baltimore, but also that Wilson won’t be available for New York’s first three games. The earliest the second-year QB can return is Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Saleh said Wilson will not go on injured reserve because he wants the signal-caller to practice the next few weeks.
“This week, he’s going to be off to the side with the trainers,” Saleh explained, “and we’ll slowly — part of his rehab schedule — start implementing him back into practice over the next couple of weeks.”
Wilson underwent knee surgery on Aug. 16 after suffering a bone bruise and a meniscus tear in New York’s first preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles; the Jets QB was scrambling on New York’s second drive of the game and went down with a non-contact injury. He didn’t see the field for the rest of the preseason, resting and rehabbing in hopes of starting Gang Green’s Week 1 game. Now, it turns out, Wilson won’t be available for the whole of September.
