ESPN insider says Jets could seek trade By: Grant Winsauer
According to ESPN and Joe Douglas, the Jets have given former No. 2 overall QB Zach Wilson the chance to find a trade. The only question is, do willing teams want to trade for Wilson, and what will they give up for him?
The former BYU signal-caller has never really been successful since joining the Jets. According to ESPN, Wilson has 6,293 passing yards with 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Wilson should have never been drafted No. 2 overall back in 2021; he only shot up draft boards because he had a miraculous throw at his Pro Day.
After the 2022 season, the Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers, and Wilson transitioned to the backup, but that didn’t last long because four snaps into the 2023 season, Rodgers tore his ACL, and Wilson was back in the starting role. However, that didn’t come without moments of adversity because, according to reports, Wilson was benched three times after Aaron Rodgers went down with his ACL injury. He was so bad that he was the third quarterback on the depth chart behind Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian.
According to MSN.com, three teams make the most sense trading for Wilson. Those three teams are the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Denver Broncos. It makes a lot of sense for Wilson to either be a backup for now or get the chance to compete. The Rams make sense because their current quarterback, Matthew Stafford, has had a couple of nagging injuries the past few years, like a thumb injury, concussions, and spinal cord contusion, according to msn.com. He is also 36 years old. It would also help if Wilson went somewhere where he had a proven offensive mind calling the plays, and Sean McVay is one of the best.
The 49ers would be attractive because they were interested in him in the 2021 draft but opted for Trey Lance, according to msn.com. That didn’t work out, and now they have Brock Purdy as their starter for the future. Kyle Shanahan has emphasized the importance of having a QB2 and even a QB3 on the squad. The Denver Broncos are planning on moving on from Russell Wilson so that they will search for a new quarterback this offseason. With the Broncos having the 12th overall pick in this upcoming draft, they may be out of reach for a top quarterback (unless they trade up). Still, Sean Payton does an excellent job of playing to his quarterback strengths, so he could trade for Wilson as a project and sign a veteran to start above him next year. Based on his production, teams could trade late-round picks for him and be fine.