Zach Wilson Offered to Pay His Mom to Get off Social Media? Is this a Distraction?

For a better part of the past five months the New York Jets have been the media darlings of the off-season. For a franchise that never seems to get anything right, this off-season has been nothing but successful (at least on paper). 

- They hired a new head coach that players can't wait to play for. 

- They drafted a new quarterback in BYU standout Zach Wilson after jettisoning Sam Darnold to Carolina.  

- They revamped the offensive line with the drafting of Alijah-Vera Tucker to anchor left guard and the recent signing of ex-Washington lineman Morgan Moses to anchor right tackle. 

- Joe Douglas added speed and depth to the wide receiver room with the signing of Corey Davis, drafting of Elijah Moore, and return of Jamison Crowder. 

- They had a mini-camp, both voluntary and mandatory that had max attendance. 

- They even put out a YouTube direct mini-series called "FLIGHT 2021" that documented this past off-season to huge critical acclaim.

It almost feels too good to be true. Just four weeks before football season truly begins with the opening of training camp, the Jets are entering 2021 in good spirits. Then this story exploded online about Zach Wilson trying to pay his mother to get off Instagram, after she had been criticized for past social media posts, including one where she called officials at Disney World "maskholes."

"People out there think I embarrass my son -- has he asked me to take down my social media? He has before. And he says 'Mom, if its about money, I'll give you money.' I said, 'Zach, I don't need your money," Zach's mother Lisa is quoted as saying. The full rant can be seen retweeted on Dov Klienman's Twitter. 

Is Lisa Wilson putting herself in a position to become a distraction to her son in his rookie season? It's not a problem now. But were she to rant about a poor performance, or a teammate dropping a pass, or something that would cause the New York press to create a story, it could be. Zach is correct in asking her to lay low on the social media front. Let's hope by August and September we hear a lot less of Lisa Wilson and more about how Zach develops in his first year as a quarterback.