Zach Wilson is not shying away from potential competition in 2023 for the Jets’ starting quarterback job. 

After a disappointing second season, Wilson was asked Monday how he would respond if the Jets decided to bring in a veteran quarterback this offseason. 

“I’m going to make that dude’s life hell in practice every day,” Wilson said. “I’m going to go out there and do my best to show the coaches that I deserve to be there. It’s not in a negative way, it’s a positive way. It’s making everybody else better.” 

Wilson’s future with the Jets and what they do at quarterback is going to be the focus of this offseason. The Jets drafted Wilson at No. 2 overall just 21 months ago. But he ended up getting benched twice this season and threw only six touchdown passes. Wilson looked like he regressed and he played terribly in his final start of the year against the Jaguars. 

General manager Joe Douglas, who drafted Wilson, echoed the support that coach Robert Saleh has given Wilson lately. The organization has made it clear it is not going to ditch Wilson, who has two years remaining on his rookie contract. 

“Philosophically, we’ve never been a team that has given up on talent early,” Douglas said. “We all know the talent that Zach possesses. We’re going to do what we’ve done with every player — that’s work with Zach, develop Zach. We’re going to do everything we can to ultimately help Zach reach his full potential here.” 

There had been a thought that the Jets could look to trade Wilson, but that seems unrealistic. It will be hard to find a taker for a player who has not proven he can be a starting quarterback but has the contract of the No. 2 overall pick. 

Instead, the Jets must now decide how to proceed with Wilson on the roster but not as the starting quarterback. The Jets could pursue a free agent in March like Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carr, who is expected to get cut by the Raiders. 

Wilson was asked if he wants to stay with the Jets. 

“Absolutely, I do and I think it’s because this is a special place and the people here are special and this locker room is full of special guys that I truly think are people that you’d play really hard for and they’re special,” Wilson said. 

Saleh was asked if Wilson will be the starting quarterback in 2023. 

“The one thing I can promise him is that he’s going to have an absolute chance to go in and compete,” Saleh said. “No different whether he’s our starter, whether we sit back and re-devote to him as a starter, whatever it is, whatever decision we make, I will stand by what I’ve told you guys in the past that these next four months up until OTAs are about him. It’s not about the jersey. It’s about him and him getting his mind right and him getting his mental and physical parts right. I think he’ll do that. He’s a good kid and works hard. He understands what the main thing is. He’s young. He’s only 23 years old. He’s trying to figure all this out just like I am. Right now, it’s about him and him only.” 

A knee injury in the preseason delayed the start to his season. Wilson did not play until Week 4. Early in the season, the Jets were winning games with Wilson at quarterback, but not because of him. Things fell apart in two games against the Patriots and with postgame comments that irritated his teammates after the second loss. Saleh benched Wilson for Mike White. Wilson got another shot when White suffered broken ribs, but he did not play well in two starts and found himself on the bench again for the final two games of the season. 

Despite this rough season, Saleh said he expects Wilson to make progress in Year 3. 

“I do expect him to take a jump going into his third year and understanding how to handle everything, just decompressing and reset and doing all that stuff,” Saleh said. “I think he’s going to have a tremendous amount of growth. Again, he’s only 23 years old. So, I do expect him to have that big jump and whatever happens from there happens.”