Will McDonald IV has been one of the most talked-about names around the Jets for months, and the trade deadline buzz hasn’t let up. The edge rusher’s fit in Aaron Glenn’s defense has been questioned from the start, and his playing time has only slipped as the season has worn on.
That hasn’t changed even with New York dealing with injuries at pass rusher. David Bailey missed last Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and veteran Joseph Ossai has appeared in only three games this season.
Still, McDonald hasn’t been able to carve out a bigger role. He has played just 48% of the Jets’ defensive snaps so far this season, a number that looks especially underwhelming for a former first-round pick.
So with the NFL trade deadline only days away, the obvious question is whether the Jets would actually move him. Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic offered some insight when he spoke with The Jet Press, and his read leaned toward New York keeping McDonald in place.
“I would think there would be interest, but I don’t know. Are you just going to let him go for a fourth-round pick?
If you can get more than that, maybe you do it. Because they have so much draft capital already, they don’t feel like they need to trade anybody.”
Rosenblatt’s point was simple: if the Jets do deal McDonald, they’d be doing it at a time when his value is far from its peak. He’s not a natural fit in the current scheme, but that doesn’t mean New York would want to move him for pennies on the dollar. It wasn’t long ago that he was putting up double-digit sacks in Robert Saleh’s wide-nine system.
There’s also the depth issue. The Jets are already thin at edge, and trading McDonald would make that problem worse. If Ossai remains out, New York could be forced to dip all the way down to a practice squad player to fill the void.
For now, the read is that the Jets are content to stand pat at the 2026 deadline. They already have plenty of draft capital for the 2027 NFL Draft, and if they do make a move, it sounds more likely to come on the offensive side of the ball.
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