Jets fans: Stop worrying about QB controversy, and enjoy the Mike White show

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The Jets might be headed towards an unavoidable quarterback controversy, and there’s always a chance it could get messy. It’s also possible that by late afternoon on Sunday, the Mike White bubble will have burst.

There’s no real way to know just yet. This unexpected situation could go in many different directions – some good, some bad. That’s why the best advice for everyone is to do what Robert Saleh is doing, and what he’s trying to tell everyone around the Jets to do, too:

Just sit back and enjoy the Mike White ride.

“I think it’s awesome,” Saleh said on Wednesday, when he anointed White as his starting quarterback for at least one more game, on Sunday at home against the Buffalo Bills. “It doesn’t always happen where a young man has his opportunity and he has success. But nothing is cooler (than) to see somebody have an opportunity, work through it, go through the struggles and to take advantage of those opportunities -- not only show that he belongs, but to show that he can start in this league.”

It is pretty awesome, when you stop and think about it. The 26-year-old White was once a much-overlooked, fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys – a spot late enough in the draft from which starting quarterbacks rarely emerge. One year later, he lost the backup quarterback job to Cooper Rush and the Cowboys cut him out of training camp. He landed on the Jets practice squad and he bounced between that and the active roster over the next two years, without ever taking a regular season snap.

This past summer, he wasn’t even guaranteed a roster spot. He had to battle it out with James Morgan, the Jets’ fourth-round pick from 2020, and veteran Josh Johnson. When he won the backup job outright and the Jets didn’t go out and sign a more experienced veteran, the prevailing reaction outside the organization was: Why?

And now we know. Now everyone knows. White, apparently, can play. Who knows if Saleh really knew it back in September or if this was just a wild leap of faith. But in eight quarters over three games, White has been remarkable, completing 72.7 percent of his passes for 702 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions – including 405 yards and three touchdowns in his one complete game.

So why can’t everyone just enjoy that? The answer, of course, is that it was just 6 ½ months ago that the Jets drafted Zach Wilson second overall, gave him the requisite, fully guaranteed, $35.1 million contract, shipped off Sam Darnold and basically anointed Wilson the newest savior of the organization. Not only that, but at every turn Saleh insisted that he wanted his young quarterback to get every rep he could handle, in practice or in games. Playing, he said, was the best way – the only way – for him to be what the Jets were sure he could be.

And now? The emergence of White has the coach doing a 180, because … well, how in the world can he take White out of the lineup now?

“There is a great amount of growth that can happen, whether he’s playing or not,” Saleh said of Wilson. “Those are facts. Those are history-proven throughout the history of time. Playing or not playing, you can get both done.

“There’s always going to be value in both. But you also don’t want to force one over the other.”

Saleh may have said that, but it’s hard to believe he really believes it. It seems obvious that the best thing for Wilson’s growth is to play again at some point this season – not sit back in the second half and watch someone do much better than he did. But here’s where the real angst comes in: What if that doesn’t happen? What if White keeps playing well and the Jets keep winning? What do the Jets do with Wilson then?

Those are all good questions. But so is this: Why does a quarterback controversy have to be bad?

“If Mike does phenomenal like we think he’s going to do, that’s not weird, that’s awesome to me,” Saleh said. “Quarterback is a precious commodity in this league.”

He’s not wrong. How awesome would it be for the Jets if, after 50-plus years of searching for their next great quarterback, they suddenly have multiple options? Does anyone really care if the next quarterback who leads the Jets to the playoffs is named White or Wilson, as long as they actually get there? Maybe White will be the next Tom Brady or Tony Romo, the quarterback who everybody overlooked and comes out of nowhere to rise to greatness.

Or maybe not. Maybe this is all just a fluke from a likely career backup who, for a few magical weeks, plays unexpectedly well.

In a few more weeks, everybody will know. Somehow, some way, this quarterback controversy will clear itself up. It’s a near-lock that what looks like an impossible decision for Saleh right now will look like a no-brainer in a few weeks.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to what’s best for the organization and the team,” he said. “That, I’m very confident will happen organically.”

In other words, until then, Saleh will let it ride and enjoy the ride and see where it goes. If White really is the next great Jets franchise quarterback, it’s going to be obvious to everyone, and the Jets will let him play. If he’s not, they’ll very quickly pivot back to Wilson, the chosen one they thought would be their next great quarterback all along.

But there’s no rush to make this decision, which is why Saleh says “We’ll see” and “It’s day to day” every time he’s asked to predict his quarterbacking future. What matters most to him is that, right now, it’s White’s turn and White’s team.

And for Jets fans, who have been starving for something good, especially at quarterback, for decades, there’s no reason to get bogged down with thoughts of a potential problem in the future. For now, just enjoy the Mike White experience, however long it lasts.