More than six weeks after Zach Wilson was known to be given permission to speak with teams about a trade, the contract-year QB remains on the Jets. Although, the team looks set to go further in the direction of the former No. 2 overall pick being elsewhere in 2024.
The Jets are highly unlikely to obtain much for Wilson, who has been one of the most disappointing QB draftees in modern NFL history. A rumor about the team needing to attach a draft pick to entice a team to take on Wilson’s 2024 guarantee emerged. But GM Joe Douglas confirmed the team is still trying to unload the fourth-year passer. Offers have come in, but Wilson remains a Jet.
Wilson is staying away from Jets offseason workouts, per ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. These are voluntary, and given the team’s actions at QB and owner Woody Johnson‘s comments about Wilson, it makes sense for the BYU alum to avoid offseason work with his current team. The Jets have made it known for a while they are done with Wilson, having given Tyrod Taylor a two-year, $12M deal to back up Aaron Rodgers.
The team is also eyeing a quarterback investment on Day 2 or Day 3, Cimini adds, calling the team “very interested” in adding to the position. Douglas said he wants the Jets to become a “QB factory” along the lines of the Ron Wolf– and Ted Thompson-era Packers. Green Bay made a habit of drafting QBs annually, even as Brett Favre‘s ironman streak persisted. The team drafted the likes of Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselback and Aaron Brooks (with Kurt Warner stopping through for a cup of coffee), each of whom becoming long-term starters elsewhere, before landing Rodgers in 2005.
Rodgers’ age (40) naturally makes this a need area for the Jets, though they are not expected to consider a passer in the first round. A Day 2 investment would be interesting as well, given how much is riding on this season for Douglas and HC Robert Saleh. Both are on hot seats, and drafting a player who would not factor into the team’s 2024 plans would bring some risk regarding the 2024 roster. Rodgers, who famously said he was “90% retired” early in the 2023 offseason, has since said he expects to play at least two more Jets seasons. The increasingly outspoken QB has also said playing into his mid-40s is on the table. That marks a change from comments he made toward the end of his Packers run.
While many teams have filled their QB2 spot, some have not. The next several days loom as a key window for the Jets and Wilson, who is due $5.5M guaranteed this year. If the Jets end up cutting Wilson, they would be tagged with $11.2M in dead money. As of now, the team is not expected to release its three-year starter. Not trading Wilson by the draft would seemingly make a release more likely, as a second- or third-day QB draftee would be on track to be the Jets’ third-stringer this season. That would further leave Wilson without a conceivable place on the 2024 roster.
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