The New York Jets traded quarterback Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos earlier this week, ending Wilson’s tumultuous three-year tenure with the Jets.
Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd thinks this is something New York should have done a while ago.
During a recent episode of The Herd, Cowherd accused the Jets’ front office of “hubris.”
Cowherd thinks that the Jets should have followed the San Francisco 49ers’ example with Trey Lance. The 49ers took Lance with the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, but they traded him to the Dallas Cowboys after just two seasons.
Of course, whether or not the 49ers would have dealt Lance if they didn’t also have an emerging Brock Purdy on the roster is up for debate.
Lance began his sophomore campaign as San Francisco’s starter, but he suffered a season-ending injury after just two starts. Jimmy Garoppolo then went down for the year, forcing Purdy under center.
Purdy was very impressive in 2022 and led the Niners all the way to the NFC Championship Game, making trading Lance for a fourth-round draft pick much more palatable for the club.
That being said, a legitimate argument can also be made that the Jets should have traded Wilson after securing a deal for Aaron Rodgers last offseason, but to be fair to New York, it wasn’t able to land Rodgers until after the free-agent period, so it wasn’t able to sign a capable backup in time.
On the flip side, one can also say that the Jets should have signed a veteran backup in free agency regardless.
One thing we can probably all agree on is that New York has been a very poorly run franchise for quite some time, and the Zach Wilson situation is just another prime example of it.
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