What happened to quarterback Zach Wilson during the December 17, 2023, New York Jets game against the Miami Dolphins left many confused. His mom took to Instagram to clear some things up. The Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins 30-0, and the quarterback left the game before halftime. Initially, Zach, 24, went to the locker room because of alleged "hydration" issues.
When he didn't return to the game, it was blamed on a head injury — but not a concussion. Eventually, he was placed in concussion protocol, leaving fans baffled by and critical of the way the situation was handled.
To help clear things up, Zach's mom, Lisa, posted an update via her Instagram Story. First, she thanked everyone for their "kind messages and prayers."
Lisa admitted that the game was "a little bit rough" for Zach, and part of the reason was that he wasn't vocal about how he was really feeling because he didn't want to let the team down.
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"Zach took some really, really big hits and he fought through it and really tried to just stay out on the field,” she said. “He didn’t want to go out, he didn’t want to stop playing — so he didn’t tell the sideline, the coaches, the trainers how he was really feeling and tried to just fight through it and be out there for his guys.”
But at a certain point, his mom says he realized that continuing to play could actually do more harm than good. “Finally, after one more blow to the head, he really started having problems with blurred vision and his depth perception,” Lisa said.
“He really started worrying that he was actually going to hurt his team if he stayed out there because his vision was not right and how you can’t play like that," Zach's mom continued.
"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts," Lisa concluded. Many people on X were not impressed by the way the situation was handled, calling it "a complete mess" and "so weird."
"The Jets seem like they totally have it together as an organization," joked NFL reporter Michael Silver.
Though many were critical of the Jets, the update from Zach's mom makes it seem as though Zach hid his condition and tried to keep going in spite of his concussion symptoms.
As many X users pointed out, the fact that he reportedly felt like he had to hide the concussion is also scary.
