Todd Bowles won’t commit to playing Muhammad Wilkerson vs. Chargers

Jets head coach Todd Bowles was asked whether Muhammad Wilkerson would return to the lineup this week. He would not say either way.

On if he thinks Muhammad Wilkerson is going to play…

We’ll give you the inactives on Sunday.

Wilkerson did not travel with the team to New Orleans last weekend as his chronic issues being late to meetings reemerged.

Reading between the lines, one might presume this is a sign Wilkerson will not be in the lineup. It would have been easy enough to just say, “Yes,” if he was returning.

This situation is something of a test of organizational competence for the Jets. This is really a decision that cannot fall to Bowles. It is above his paygrade. This is a meaningless game, and the Jets could conceivably be stuck with a $20 million cap hit next year if Wilkerson suffers a serious injury since his contract has guarantees for injury. It might be different if the former star showed any desire to do his job effectively, but last week’s events showed that not to be the case.

This is a pretty easy decision.