INDIANAPOLIS — After three dreadful seasons with the Jets, the Zach Wilson era is coming to an end.
During his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday, Jets general manager Joe Douglas told reporters that the team has given Wilson’s agent permission to seek a trade.
“I’ve had good conversions with his agent Brian Ayrault,” Douglas said. “Where we are exactly, we have given them permission to talk to other teams about a trade. I’m going to circle back with Brian at some point this week or next week just to see how those conversations are going. Other than that, there’s nothing else to report.”
The Jets selected Wilson No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, believing he would be their future franchise quarterback. But he has floundered since entering the league.
In his three seasons, Wilson has thrown for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He also has a completion percentage of 57% during that span. With Wilson under center, the Jets have a 12-21 record in his 33 starts.
After drafting him, the Jets gave Wilson the starting job with zero competition from a veteran quarterback. But in 2022, the Jets finally benched Wilson after he threw 1,688 yards, six touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Last season was supposed to be a redshirt season for Wilson. The Jets acquired four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Packers last April. But following Rodgers’ Achilles tear four plays into his debut with the Jets, Wilson became the Jets starter once again.
In 12 games, Wilson passed for 2,271 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also completed 60.1% of his passes.
In Week 11, during the third quarter of the Bills’ 32-6 shellacking against the Jets, Wilson was benched for backup Tim Boyle after completing 7-of-15 passes for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Wilson became the Jets starter again after the team released Boyle before their Week 14 contest against the Texans. But not without controversy.
According to an article released by The Athletic, Wilson was reluctant to start again because of the possibility of injury. But Wilson and Jets head coach Robert Saleh both denied the reports. Wilson also stated he was “frustrated” by the report.
That frustration led to the best game Wilson had in a Jets uniform. In a 30-6 victory against the Texans, Wilson completed 27-of-36 passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
However, that performance would be short-lived because Wilson struggled during the 30-0 loss to the Dolphins the following week. He completed just 4-of-11 passes for 26 yards before leaving the game with a concussion.
Wilson did not play again this season after he remained on concussion protocol during the Jets final three games.
Wilson will count $11.2 million on the salary cap and is scheduled to make $5.5 million in guaranteed money in 2024. His next team, assuming he is traded, has the option of picking up his fifth-year option ($22.4 million cap hit) for 2025, but they would need to do that by May 2. However, there’s virtually no chance of that happening.
Tumultuous would sum up Wilson’s time with the Jets. Earlier this month during NFL Honors, Jets owner Woody Johnson was critical of Wilson.
“We need a backup quarterback,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have one last year.”
Where the 24-year-old will land next season remains to be seen. Gang Green is expected to sign a veteran quarterback this offseason to back up Rodgers, 40, in case of another injury.
“That’s part of the discussions that we’ve had,” Douglas said. “It is an area that we are going to be addressing moving forward.
“We are still really early in the offseason, especially when it comes to the veteran backups landscape and market. We’ve had good meetings and good evaluations of the guys that are available.
“I think we are ready to take the next step and see where the market is exactly with these backup quarterbacks.”
