Insider shares if Jets could keep Zach Wilson without trade

After New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas confirmed on Wednesday that quarterback Zach Wilson was granted permission to seek a trade, some may have wondered if there was any way he could remain with the Jets. 

Jets insider Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic didn't dance around the topic for a piece published on Thursday. 

"If the Jets can’t find a trade partner for Wilson, they’ll release him, which would provide zero cap savings and an $11.18M dead cap penalty," Rosenblatt revealed. 

This isn't all that surprising considering Wilson's relationship with starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly "soured" over this past season. Additionally, Jets owner Woody Johnson figuratively buried the second pick of the 2021 NFL Draft when Johnson said ahead of Super Bowl LVIII that the Jets "didn't have" a legitimate backup after Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles in Week 1 this past September. 

Before Rosenblatt's update, it was said that the Jets could get a seventh-round draft pick for Wilson "if they're lucky." Rosenblatt wrote that New York fans shouldn't hope for "anything more than a conditional sixth- or seventh-round pick — or perhaps the Jets could attach Wilson to one of their draft picks to move up in a later round."

Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young mentioned the Los Angeles Rams as a potential destination for Wilson. Rosenblatt directly said a Rams-Wilson marriage is not happening barring a surprising development. 

"Former Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is in that role with the Rams," Rosenblatt explained. "They also just hired former Jets quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese...LaFleur being on staff doesn’t make it more likely Wilson lands in Los Angeles — it makes it less likely. I wrote about the disintegration of the Wilson-LaFleur relationship last year, and they didn’t hide their distaste for each other after LaFleur was fired."

Any team that calls the Jets about Wilson may be interested in stashing him as a "break glass in case of emergency" option similar to how the Dallas Cowboys handled Trey Lance after they acquired Lance from the San Francisco 49ers this past August. Then again, clubs may wait for Douglas to cut the 24-year-old who seemingly isn't wanted back inside the Jets' facility.