The New York Jets have spent the past year showing they’re willing to make bold moves, and that approach could still lead to another notable trade before the regular season begins.
Since Darren Mougey took over, the Jets have not only added players, but also shown a willingness to part with names plenty of people wouldn’t have expected to be available a year ago. Sauce Gardner sat at the top of that list. The star defensive back, widely viewed as one of the NFL’s best, was dealt in a move that raised eyebrows at the time, but New York ultimately landed a return too strong to turn down.
Now the question is whether Mougey has another deal in him over the next few weeks or months. The sense is that if the right player becomes available - or if another team puts together a package the Jets can’t ignore - New York could strike again.
“Darren Mougey is a proactive general manager who has made 13 player trades in the past 12 months. What's up his sleeve this summer? They could use help at safety, quarterback (depth), linebacker (depth) and offensive line (depth).
“The player with the most trade value is edge rusher Will McDonald IV, and he could spark some interest from teams, as he did before last season's trade deadline. In terms of contract extensions, it should be a quiet summer. Mougey got his work done early, locking up running back Breece Hall and guard Joe Tippmann,” Rich Cimini wrote.
That puts McDonald in the spotlight. He’s clearly an important piece for the Jets, but he’s also the kind of player other teams could chase if they get desperate enough for help off the edge. A deal wouldn’t be shocking if the right offer surfaced.
There’s also a real argument for the Jets to keep turning over the roster and continue moving on from top players. At the same time, it’s not hard to see why they’d only do that if the return clearly makes sense. For McDonald, that’s the line: valuable enough to matter, tempting enough to draw interest, and possibly movable if the market gets serious.
In Other News...
Jets Backup QB Anxiety Just Took A Very Familiar Turn
The Jets backup quarterback picture has a way of circling back to the same old questions, and Jimmy Garoppolos name is suddenly back in the mix. With Geno Smith entrenched as the starter, the club still has to think about what happens if the depth chart gets tested, and Garoppolo brings the kind of resume that keeps him in that conversation: a player who has started plenty of games and reached two Super Bowls.
What makes the idea more interesting is the contrast in his career arc. Garoppolo has long looked like a competent option when healthy, but injuries have repeatedly complicated his run, and now he is at a point where the next step in his career is still being sorted out. For a Jets team that cannot afford to be casual about quarterback insurance, that leaves a familiar decision hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans May Be Watching The Wrong SEC Quarterback Again
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is starting to draw some NFL attention as the draft conversation shifts toward the next wave of passers, and the Jets are once again hovering around a name that could stir up familiar debate. For a team still searching for long-term stability at the position, any quarterback with buzz is going to get a look, especially when the evaluation starts to lean on traits and upside rather than a polished, finished product.
The intrigue here is less about whether Chambliss belongs on a board and more about where a team would feel comfortable taking the swing. There is already some speculation about his draft range if he keeps building on last season, but his profile comes with enough questions to make the early-round conversation tricky. For the Jets, who have seen this movie before with SEC quarterbacks, the real issue is whether the value lines up before someone else makes the call. [Read more 🡒]