Football is officially back. The Hall of Fame Game took place on Thursday night between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (check out our takeaways here), and even though Aaron Rodgers didn't play, he still made his presence felt.
Jets backup quarterback Zach Wilson made his 2023 debut, even if it was for the Hall of Fame Game and only for 11 plays. During his short time on the field, Wilson found Malik Taylor for a 40-yard deep pass that turned to a 57-yard gain by the wide receiver.
The pass was a highlight for Wilson, but he credited Rodgers with the play call.
"Yeah, great call by Aaron Rodgers," Wilson said, via the team's transcript. "Had to give him a little shoutout there. Yeah, backed up, taking a shot down the field. Kind of pick your matchup. Those guys were kind of just playing single-safety man. I think that's great for preseason ball, so you can see what guys can win and separate. Malik's done a great job all of training camp, so I wanted to go to his side. I liked the matchup with the corner as well. He did a great job winning."
Wilson finished 3-for-5 with 65 yards. Veteran Tim Boyle took over afterwards and finished 6-for-11 with 61 yards. The Jets lost 21-16 to the Browns.
After the loss, head coach Robert Saleh complimented Wilson's performance.
"Zach did a good job, he was poised, looked comfortable in the pocket, delivered the ball on schedule and definitely something to build on," Saleh said, via NFL.com.
The former No. 2 overall pick will likely see the field more during the team's three preseason games. Saleh said the approach with Wilson is getting him accustomed to the new ways of the offense.
"For him, just rebuilding that confidence and swag that we fell in love within the draft process and all that stuff, and I think he is getting it," Saleh said. "I said it before, he is a rookie all over again, all the footwork is different, the verbiage is different, the way Aaron plays quarterback, and the way [offensive coordinator Nathaniel] Hackett teaches quarterback is a little bit different, so there is a lot of learning and I think he has been attacking the heck out of it and doing a really nice job."
Wilson will spend the season developing under Rodgers, who took a nearly $35 million pay cut to play for New York.