Highlights
- Zach Wilson has received permission to seek a trade, according to New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas.
- Scouts agree that the Jets will only get a late day-three draft pick in a trade for Wilson.
- Teams with quarterback issues may gamble on Wilson as a backup or third-stringer, though his days as a starter could be over.
Ask any NFL fan who the most cursed franchises in the league is, and you’ll likely receive one of two answers: the Cleveland Browns or the New York Jets.
Both teams have an… unfortunate history with trying to find a franchise quarterback, to put it mildly. The Browns haven’t had an elite signal caller since returning to Cleveland in 1999, and the Jets haven’t had one since Joe Namath sold his soul and delivered the franchise their only Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl III.
According to Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas, that long-running curse will continue for New York, as Zach Wilson has been granted permission to seek a trade out of the Big Apple.
It’s an unceremonious end to the ill-fated 2021 second overall pick’s career with the Jets, yet it still feels like a move that came a year too late. After Aaron Rodgers went down with an Achilles injury on his first drive in a Jets uniform, the team infamously entrusted their Super Bowl-or-bust season to Wilson, rather than bringing in a veteran quarterback.
Now, the Jets will spend the offseason scouring the market for some much-needed Rodgers insurance, while Wilson will attempt to get a second chance at his NFL career elsewhere.
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Wilson was an exciting prospect coming out of BYU, equipped with elite arm talent and loads of athleticism. Questions arose about his processing and ability to read defenses, though the Jets felt confident enough in their ability to develop him to take him second overall in a QB class with Justin Fields and three other first-round quarterbacks.
Those flaws turned out to be too major for Wilson to overcome, as he’s struggled mightily in his three-year career. He has a 12-21 record as a starter and a career quarterback rating of 73.2. Furthermore, his passing stats aren’t any more impressive: Wilson has thrown for just 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions with a 57.0% completion percentage.
|
Zach Wilson’s Stats with Jets |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Games Played |
13 |
9 |
12 |
|
Passing Yards |
2,334 |
1,688 |
2,271 |
|
Passing TDs |
9 |
6 |
8 |
|
INTs |
11 |
7 |
7 |
|
Completion % |
55.6% |
54.5% |
60.1% |
|
Passer Rating |
69.7 |
72.8 |
77.2 |
In 2023, Wilson showed some improvements, including an impressive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 when he threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, though, Wilson threw for just 2,271 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions (and led the league with seven fumbles lost) in 12 mostly bad games while filling in for Rodgers.
As for what the Jets could get for Wilson in a trade, a number of scouts spoke to ESPN’s Rich Cimi about possible compensation that could head back to New York. The consensus was that the team could get a late day-three NFL Draft pick (i.e., a pick in the sixth or seventh round), though some of the scouts admitted they wouldn’t give up anything for Wilson.
One executive told Cimi that Wilson still has the traits that made him a first-round selection, but his flaws have become more pronounced than ever:
The only trade value for him is his arm talent, meaning he can make all the throws. But the biggest thing, he has to become more mature and be consistent in everything, especially his decision-making. There were flashes this year, but obviously not enough.
Teams with struggling young quarterbacks and talent at the skill positions – the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Las Vegas Raiders stand out in that category – or in desperate need of an insurance policy ahead of free agency (like the Minnesota Vikings) could make a low-risk play for Wilson.
No team should acquire the BYU alum under the pretense that he can be a capable starter in 2024, but there may be an offensive-minded coach who believes he can turn Wilson’s fortunes around. As a third-string, break-in-case-of-emergency backup, teams could do worse than a 24-year-old with 33 career starts in the NFL.
As Wilson’s career in New York comes to a close, both he and the Jets should be eager to move on and learn from their beleaguered marriage.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.
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