‘I love him and I care about him’: What Aaron Rodgers has to say about Zach Wilson’s up-and-down season

No matter what happens on the field, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has a fan in NFL legend Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers talked about his close relationship with the former BYU quarterback during his latest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“Zach and I talk almost every day. We’re very close and I love him and I care about him. I’m always checking in with him, seeing how he’s doing,” Rodgers said on Oct. 3.

McAfee had asked Rodgers to address what role he played in Wilson’s strong performance Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

After a tough start to the season, Wilson completed 28 of 39 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns during the Jets’ 23-20 loss to the Chiefs.

With that performance, he became the first quarterback in Patrick Mahomes’ career to have more completions, more passing yards, more touchdown passes and fewer interceptions in a game than the Chiefs quarterback, according to OptaStats.

Rodgers told McAfee that he doesn’t deserve credit for what Wilson achieved on the field.

“It wasn’t some pep talk I gave him that made him play better,” he said.

Wilson got into rhythm thanks to his own good preparation, as well as some well-designed plays, Rodgers said, adding that he’s “proud” of how Wilson performed.

“I’m proud of the leadership that he showed. I’m proud of how he played,” he said.

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McAfee had asked the former Green Bay Packers quarterback, who joined the Jets this offseason but injured his Achilles in the first game of the year, to weigh in on Wilson’s somewhat uncharacteristic comments after the Jets’ loss on Sunday.

The young quarterback took the blame for the loss, which is something he hasn’t typically done in the past, McAfee pointed out.

“I think you’ve seen a lot of great leadership growth from him. I think our society at time wants to cancel people or label people and keep that label on them regardless of any self-growth or experience that changes your perspective on life,” Rodgers said.

People shouldn’t assume they know what’s going on in Wilson’s head, he added.

“Zach’s a young kid. He’s learning. He’s growing,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers told McAfee that he hopes the Jets as a whole will stay positive moving forward and not let details of the arguments that happen in meeting rooms or the locker room become front-page news. Ahead of Sunday’s performance, sports media was filled with stories making it seem like Jets players, coaches and leadership were at war.

“We need to learn as an organization that some things need to be kept in-house,” Rodgers said.

The Jets (1-3) next play on Sunday afternoon against the Denver Broncos (1-3).