New York Jets’ starting quarterback Zach Wilson on Friday night hurt his right knee during the first quarter of the preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

The Jets won 24-21. The team finished 4th in AFC East last season and are scheduled to play the Atalanta Falcons and city rivals New York Giants before kicking off their main season vs the Baltimore Ravens. 

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Wilson is expected to miss all three games. The 23-year-old underwent an MRI Saturday to determine the severity of the injury. Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters that the QB’s ACL is “supposed to be intact.”

As per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero, the Jets star was diagnosed with a bone bruise and a meniscus tear in his knee. The report added that there is no ligament damage to Wilson’s knee.

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Pelissero, in his report, added that Wilson will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee. However, a date has not been set for the procedure. Hence, the QB’s status for Week 1 is in question. 

After going back to pass with 4:29 left in Q1, Wilson was flushed out of the pocket and scrambled to his right for 7 yards, but went down after the play. He appeared to injure his knee when planting to cut on Philadelphia’s grass field.

After being checked by trainers, Wilson limped to the sideline on his own power before heading to the locker room.

“I’m always concerned until you get the final evaluation,” Saleh said.

“Just run your butt out of bounds. He got a little greedy, he wanted to get more. It’s a new sod, so the turf wasn’t exactly as firm as you want it to be,” the coach added. 

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There is optimism this year for the 23-year-old Wilson, who was drafted No. 2 overall last year. He had an up-and-down rookie season, throwing nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 13 games, but went without an interception in his final five games.

Wilson was shaky in his first series against Philadelphia’s starters, going 1 for 3 for 10 yards with an interception. Eagles linebacker Kyzir White stepped in front of Wilson’s intended pass for wide receiver Corey Davis and returned it 27 yards to the Jets 20 on what appeared to be a poor read by the New York quarterback. Wilson’s first pass of the game was a badly thrown out-route intended for rookie first-round pick Garrett Wilson.

Wilson struggled with accuracy last season, ranking last in the league in completion rate (55.6%) and passer rating (69.7). His decision-making and accuracy had looked better this summer during training camp.

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Before his injury, Wilson was sharper in his second series, albeit against Philadelphia backups. He connected with tight end Tyler Conklin for 4 yards and then hit wide receiver Elijah Moore for 9 yards, finishing 3 for 5 for 23 yards and an interception.

On the play in which he was hurt, a first down from the New York 42-yard line, Wilson faked a handoff to running back Michael Carter on a play-action pass play but was forced to scramble after defensive lineman Tarron Jackson beat right tackle Max Mitchell around the end.

With Eagles first-round rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis in hot pursuit, Wilson tried to juke past linebacker Nakobe Dean but went down after being barely touched by Dean.

Asked if Wilson should have run out of bounds, Saleh said, “One hundred percent.”