Bengals vs. Jets NFL Week 8 spread, odds: Zach Wilson out, Mike White in at quarterback for Jets barring trade (Nick Foles?) or signing (Cam Newton?)
The Jets have lost rookie QB Zach Wilson for 2-4 weeks.
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Any bettors who wagered on New York Jets quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors this season can throw that ticket away. Wilson wasn't going to win it regardless because of very uneven play, and the former BYU star (+4000 on that prop at Caesars Sportsbook) now has zero chance because he will miss up to a month with a knee injury. That presumably means unknown Mike White will start Sunday's game vs. the Bengals, barring a New York trade for someone like Nick Foles or the signing of Cam Newton. Cincinnati opened at -10.
It's actually good news for the Jets that Wilson will only miss 2-4 weeks with a sprained PCL as it certainly looked possible it was a torn ACL when the injury happened in Sunday's embarrassing 54-13 loss at New England on a blind-side hit by Matthew Judon. Losing by 41 points out of the bye week is not a good look for that Jets coaching staff. Wilson was 6-for-10 for 51 yards before leaving.
So who is Mike White? He was a fifth-round pick in 2018 out of Western Kentucky by the Cowboys. White made the team as a third-string QB that year but was waived ahead of the 2019 season and signed with the Jets' practice squad. White made his NFL debut in place of Wilson against the Pats and was 20-for-32 for 202 yards, a touchdown and two picks.
Josh Johnson is the only other QB on the Jets' roster and is currently on the practice squad. The journeyman has played for 13 different franchises in 16 stops but only has eight starts in 33 games played.
Foles is very available from the Bears as he's third string there – the NFL Trade Deadline is Nov. 2. At 1-5, though, the Jets may not feel it's worth it to give up even a late-round draft pick for Foles if they think Wilson might only miss two games.
Newton remains a free agent after being waived by the Patriots in the preseason. The Seattle Seahawks looked into him when Russell Wilson went down. One reason Newton might have been getting the cold shoulder was because he wasn't vaccinated against COVID, but he now has been so he says. Newton had missed three practices because of what the Patriots called a COVID-19 protocol "misunderstanding," but Bill Belichick said Newton's vaccination status didn't factor into the decision to release him.
If the Bengals-Jets line holds, it will be the first time this century that Cincinnati is a double-digit road favorite.
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