In case you missed it, Joe Namath made some headlines on The Michael Kay Show Monday. Namath, forever an optimist for his beloved Jets, has officially been broken by Zach Wilson. He admitted he was “disgusted” by the third-year quarterback’s play and spoke very candidly in a clip that’s now made the rounds on social media.
It even got the attention of Aaron Rodgers. More on that in a second.
Kay reacted to Namath’s viral moment during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.
“The interesting thing, Rich, is he tweets—or I don’t know what they’re called on X, they’re Xs,” Kay told Eisen. “I was looking at it during the [Yankees’] Rain Delay on Sunday. I have the Jet game on and I can see that his comments were really pointed. So between innings, after the game resumed, I texted my producer, ‘Let’s try to get Joe on,’ and I think he really wanted to come on. Usually, you have to go through his people…Don [La Greca] and I didn’t have to do too much heavy lifting there, Rich.”
They asked him one question and Namath was off the rails.
“He was not happy with Zach Wilson,” said Kay.
"Send him to Kansas City to back up against somebody like Mahomes, maybe he'd learn something. I wouldn't keep him. I've seen enough of Zach Wilson." – Joe Namath pic.twitter.com/FQ5GL7tTA7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 25, 2023
Namath also had this to say about Wilson’s performance:
“I didn’t take anything positive out of it. It was awful.”
An incredulous Namath said of the first sack: “You sit down? You sit down on a play? You go right down? What happened? I thought you’re trying to win and make plays. You quit on a play? What is going on? It’s disgusting.”
Kay asked Namath what he would do to make Zach Wilson better.
“Send him to Kansas City to back up against somebody like [Patrick] Mahomes, maybe, and learn something,” Namath replied. “I wouldn’t keep him. “I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson, alright? I’ve seen enough. He has quick feet, can throw a little bit, but I don’t believe in what’s going on up there.”
So many things came out of The Michael Kay Show’s interview with Namath, but the thing that really got Kay is that the Super Bowl III MVP said he’s never met Wilson.
“And to me, that’s on the Jets,” Kay said. “This is your most famous alum. Period. End of sentence. Every quarterback who puts on a Jet uniform should at least meet Joe Namath and have some words. Not to talk about Xs and Os, but just to talk about being a quarterback in New York and how you handle it. He has never met the guy. I don’t get it. That’s malfeasance on the Jets’ part and maybe that led to Joe being as upset as he was. How dare the Jets not make Zach Wilson and Joe Namath meet. It doesn’t make sense.”
And it’s unlikely that the two ever will meet, as Aaron Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday the fanbase and former players (Joe Namath) are not helping the cause.
"This is what teams have to go through and there's adversity points in every season..
I think we need to hold our poise a little bit better and it's really tough not being there with those guys" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/UYPFdmXKpz
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 26, 2023
“Joe Namath, I’m sorry, he has carte blanche,” Kay said, in response to Rodgers’ comments. “He can say what he wants when he wants to say it. He’s the king of New York Jet history and if he has a pointed comment like that, he can make it. He doesn’t have to be a cheerleader. He doesn’t work for the Jets. People that work for the Jets, it’s a different story. And Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been here his entire career. He doesn’t know what Jets fans have gone through. He doesn’t know the angst that they’ve gone through. And there are gonna be shots fired. Sorry, there are, and I think Jets fans are most disappointed in not so much Zach Wilson, but that Zach Wilson was put in this situation. I think that goes to the top of the ladder for the Jets.
“Joe Douglas has assembled a really, really, really good roster, and has essentially put a child in the seat of a Maserati. It doesn’t make any sense. It just doesn’t make any sense. You have to back up your 39-year-old quarterback with somebody with more experience. And I’m sorry, Zach Wilson has proven for three years now, that he is not that guy. The wrong guy to be taking shots at is Joe Namath. I’m sorry.”
Kay’s comments weren’t as appointed as Namath’s, but the general sense among those in the New York Media and Eisen, who is a Jets fan himself, is in line with how Namath feels. Maybe Rodgers doesn’t want the conversation around Wilson to be as volatile, considering how fragile the young quarterback’s confidence is, but for better or worse, this is the market they play in.
Namath may never meet Wilson, and the Jets have nobody but themselves to blame, according to Kay.
What a mess.
