Zach Wilson just made his return to New York. Here’s what he said about it

For the 11th time in his professional career, Zach Wilson was part of the winning team at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
For the first time, however, such a win came as a member of the road squad, as Wilson’s Denver Broncos defeated his former New York Jets teammates in an ugly 10-9 affair.
“(It was) a little bittersweet,” Wilson told the New York Post after the game of returning to MetLife. “A little bit of good, a little bit of memories of things that didn’t always go well, but overall, good to see a lot of the guys, which I think is the main thing.”
The former BYU star didn’t see the field Sunday — he served as Denver’s emergency quarterback, with rookie Bo Nix starting under center — but his homecoming of sorts still served as a prominent theme on the afternoon.
Wilson was seen chatting with his former head coach Robert Saleh prior to kickoff, and some Jets fans even reportedly yelled to their 2021 first-round draft selection to apologize for how he fared in New York.
Though Wilson has yet to take a regular season snap for the Broncos, his career is still far from over, especially considering the recent resurgences of a few other fellow ex-Jets QBs.
Geno Smith has emerged as a Pro Bowl talent for the Seattle Seahawks, while Sam Darnold has led the Minnesota Vikings to an impressive, unexpected 4-0 start to the season.
Wilson acknowledged after the game that he is working to become the next such post-New York success story.
“I’d like to hope so, for sure,” Wilson told the New York Post. “And that’s what I’m preparing for every day — when my number gets called and my time comes. Just doing the best I can to help the team win and just trying to get better every day.”
The Jets, who were considered preseason Super Bowl contenders by many, have proven inconsistent thus far in 2024. New York is 2-2, losing handily to San Francisco, scraping by Tennessee and thumping New England prior to Sunday’s dud against Denver.
Starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers struggled against the Broncos, completing just 57.1% of his passes for 225 yards, no touchdowns and a 72.0 rating while being sacked five times.
Rodgers had served as a mentor to Wilson upon arriving to the Jets in 2023, only to reportedly distance himself from the young signal-caller following a season-ending achilles injury in his first New York start.
Despite the previous reports of their soured relationship, Wilson spoke highly of Rodgers to the Post and suggested that the pair had made amends.
“We get to talk every once in a while,” Wilson said. “He’s a phenomenal dude. Obviously, an incredible quarterback — he does such a good job out there. I’m always trying to learn from his game.”