Will McDonald IV wants out of New York.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Jets edge rusher has requested a trade after growing frustrated with how little he’s been used this season. McDonald IV had already gone to the coaches weeks ago asking for more chances, but when that didn’t lead to a bigger role, he let the team know he wants to move on.
The Jets are not actively shopping him, and the NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
McDonald IV has been a holdover from the previous regime, and the fit with the current staff never really took. He put up 10.5 sacks in 2024, but the coaching staff that arrived in 2025 never seemed to click with him.
This season, the 27-year-old has logged three sacks, seven solo tackles, two tackles for loss and seven QB hits while playing 277 snaps. New York drafted him 15th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, and the Iowa State product has 24.5 sacks in the NFL.
The Jets’ bigger problems, though, keep piling up. After Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, they fell to 2-7 and have now dropped four straight. Under Aaron Glenn, New York is 5-21, and he still hasn’t won a game in the AFC East.
Against Kansas City, the Jets came up empty in the end zone despite 32 offensive plays in Chiefs territory. That was their most snaps in plus territory without a touchdown since Week 3 of the 2022 season.
The second-half numbers have been brutal, too. Glenn and Co. have been outscored 45-10 in the past two second halves, and Glenn said, "It gets tough -- I know it does -- but there's belief because we've shown ... we can play at a high level," Glenn said. "A lot of times, I just go back to that and just show that [to the players], believing that we can continue to do that."
There’s also a quarterback question hanging over the rest of the season. The Jets should start Cade Klubnik to see what he can offer, since Geno Smith won’t be on the roster next season. Klubnik went 21/34 for 190 passing yards in the preseason, with no touchdown passes and one interception.
Before the 2025 college football season, Klubnik was viewed as a potential top pick in the 2026 draft, but his stock slipped after he and Clemson struggled. The Jets then selected him with the 110th overall pick in the 2026 draft, and even after that fall, Klubnik still has plenty of confidence in his game.
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