Jets players select QB Zach Wilson as team captain, Saleh giving locker room final say
The New York Jets announced the team captains for the upcoming 2021 season in a players-only voting system. Those five captains are QB Zach Wilson, WR Corey Davis, DT Foley Fatukasi, MLB C.J. Mosley, and special-teams ace Justin Hardee.
Last year, under head coach Adam Gase the team captains were QB Sam Darnold, OT George Fant, NT Steve McClendon, FS Marcus Maye, and backup swing safety Matthias Farley.
Three of those players are no longer with the team in 2021. Darnold was traded to Carolina, McClendon was traded to Tampa Bay, and Farley signed with the Tennessee Titans. You can see the full trade details in the article above.
But back to the 2021 team captains. No surprise that rookie 1st-round pick (No. 2) QB Zach Wilson was chosen by the players. He has the poise, leadership, and demeanor the players crave.
“I was like, 'Oh, look at that,' " he said of Wilson. "I think it's more of a testament to him and the way he's been able to conduct himself here. You go to the cafeteria and he's hanging out with his O-linemen, he's got an infectious personality, so credit to him the way he's handled himself so far."
Saleh on shiny new-toy WR Corey Davis being selected:
"From a coach's standpoint, when you draw up a player, you can't draw it up better for him with his mindset, the way he prepares every day, the way he goes about his business, the way he talks to his teammates, the way he takes care of himself. Then you go on the field, he's on his job, every single detail. He's deliberate in everything that he does. And then, on top of it, he's pretty damn good at what he does, too. He's been everything we expected as a free agent pickup, because they don't always work out that way, and knock on wood, he's been awesome."
Davis entered the NFL in 2017 as a first-round pick (No. 5) by the Tennessee Titans. The Titans opted to decline his 5th-year player-option, effectively making him a UFA in 2021. After recording 207 catches for 2,851 receiving yards (13.8 avg.) and 11 TDs, he inked a three-year, $37.5M deal with New York.
As the Jets prepare to take on Darnold and the Carolina Panthers, it will be a storyline of past meeting the present when it comes to the QB duel.
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