With the trade deadline one day away, the first ripple out of Florham Park involves a player who wants out. Jets edge rusher Will McDonald has asked to be traded, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and New York is now dealing with a situation that has quickly become one of the league’s early deadline storylines.
Rapoport said McDonald “has informed the team that he wants to be traded.” He also noted, “The former first-rounder wants more opportunites and the team is aware.”
McDonald’s frustration appears tied to how little he’s been on the field. Rapoport reported that he has “played sparingly this season and is extremely frustrated with his usage.”
The Jets, though, are not rushing into anything. Rapoport added, “Teams have called NYJ interested in McDonald, yet the Jets have not engaged in trade talks.
And they have no plans to.”
On the field, McDonald has produced when given chances. Through 139 pass-rushing snaps this season, he has 19 pressures and three sacks. But his role has stayed limited because the Jets view him as more of a situational pass-rusher than an every-down piece.
That has been the central tension around McDonald. He showed real pass-rushing ability from 2024-25, piling up 18.5 sacks across those two seasons.
Even so, the consistency has wavered, including this year. In the 2026 season opener, he logged five pressures and a sack on 18 pass-rush reps.
Since then, over eight games, he has added just 14 pressures and two sacks on 121 reps.
McDonald is in the final year of his four-year rookie deal, though the Jets picked up his fifth-year option in May. That keeps him under team control through the 2027 season.
Whether this becomes a deadline move or an offseason decision is now the real question for New York. The Jets have until Tuesday at 4 p.m.
EST to trade McDonald, but a request alone doesn’t mean they have to move him before then. In many cases, that kind of deal carries more value after the season, when teams can often get more for a player.
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