Jets’ Zach Wilson heads to L.A. for knee procedure

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is heading to Los Angeles to undergo a procedure on his knee, a move that the team expects to give clarity on how much time he will miss.

Wilson suffered a bone bruise and meniscus tear in his right knee during Friday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He is scheduled to undergo an arthroscopic procedure to repair the meniscus on Tuesday.

“We’re optimistic, but he’s not out of the woods until they get in there and make the decision,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said on Sunday.

In Wilson’s place, veteran Joe Flacco received first-team reps in practice on Sunday. The 37-year-old with 176 career starts gives the Jets a solid option, though there is still a chance Wilson will be ready for their season-opener on Sept. 11 against the Ravens.

It was initially feared that Wilson suffered a serious — and potentially season-ending — injury. Tests after the game indicated the ACL was intact, and an MRI on Saturday morning revealed the exact nature of the injury. 

The New York Post first reported Wilson was diagnosed with a bone bruise and meniscus tear that needs to be trimmed and not fully repaired.

After going back to pass with 4:29 left in the first quarter, Wilson was flushed out of the pocket and scrambled to his right for 7 yards, but went down when he tried to juke past Philadelphia’s Nakobe Dean. He appeared to injure his knee when planting to cut on Philadelphia’s grass field.

Wilson was down for several minutes as doctors and trainers checked on him. He walked gingerly to the sideline and then to the locker room.

“He’s in good spirits,” coach Robert Saleh said of Wilson after the game. “He’s fine, a little frustrated, obviously, but he’s as good as you can be in this situation.”

And he probably feels quite a bit better knowing his season isn’t already over before it even started.

Wilson’s progress in his second NFL season is the primary focus this year for the Jets, who took the former BYU star with the No. 2 overall pick last year. Wilson had a down-and-up season that began with struggles and then a sprained PCL in the back of the same right knee, sidelining him for four games. But he came back and was solid down the stretch, not throwing an interception in any of his final five games.

Wilson finished his rookie year with nine touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. The Jets added several playmaking pieces around their young quarterback during the offseason — including wide receiver Garrett Wilson, tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, running back Breece Hall — and he’s had a solid training camp this summer.

Reporting from Associated Press.