The brief Zach Wilson era is coming to an end for the New York Jets after general manager Joe Douglas revealed on Wednesday that the young quarterback has been granted permission to seek a trade.
In just three seasons after being selected No. 2 overall out of BYU, the 24-year-old was unable to assert himself as the team’s hopeful franchise quarterback after two rocky campaigns. He was seemingly given a reprieve when the team acquired Aaron Rodgers, which offered him an opportunity to watch and learn from a future Hall of Famer.
But Rodgers’ season-ending ACL injury in Week 1 of the 2023 season forced Wilson back under center where, once again, he failed to live up to the high expectations put on his shoulders by the organization. With it came the destruction of his relationship with the Jets as a reported unwillingness to play following a benching appeared to be the last straw.
His value is as low as it can possibly be. He’s 12-21 as a starter with a 57% completion rating and more interceptions (25) than touchdowns (23). That means the Jets are not going to get much for him — potentially a sixth or seventh-round conditional draft pick. But what teams could show interest?
Los Angeles Rams: The Rams are no strangers to taking on quarterbacking reclamation projects. In successive years, they took flyers on Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz to back up Matthew Stafford. Mayfield translated his time in Los Angeles to a starting gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — he even helped them make the playoffs where he defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round.
Denver Broncos: It is close to where he starred at BYU and it is a franchise that does not have its quarterback situation in order, at all. The Russell Wilson experiment failed miserably under head coach Sean Payton, who could take on a young, mobile quarterback like Wilson in hopes of trying to unlock a new level to his game at the pro level.
San Francisco 49ers: Had Wilson been available with the No. 3 pick at the 2019 NFL Draft, he could have very well been a San Francisco 49er as head coach Kyle Shanahan was interested in taking him. Instead, Wilson went to the Jets, the Niners drafted Trey Lance, and a quarterback shuffle in San Fran ultimately led to the emergence of Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, who is now remarkably relevant. Purdy could very well be the team’s future franchise quarterback, but they need legitimate depth in case his NFC Championship-winning 2023 season was a flash in the pan.
Kansas City Chiefs: Needless to say, Wilson would be holding a clipboard for his entire tenure in KC unless Patrick Mahomes were to go down with an injury. But the defending champs haven’t had a legitimate No. 2 option behind their already legendary passer, and Wilson could take some time to learn under two of the game’s best in Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.
Philadelphia Eagles: Douglas worked with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman so there would certainly be a level of comfort in dealing with the NFC East side. Wilson is an athletic quarterback like Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have never been shy in creating a logjam of passing talent to back up their star passer. Marcus Mariota is a free agent and Tanner McKee leaves much to be desired until proven otherwise.
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