The idea of the Jets chasing a quarterback trade right now doesn’t hold up, especially with Geno Smith showing enough through the first three weeks to make that move feel unnecessary.
New York still has plenty of issues to sort out on both sides of the ball, but quarterback no longer looks like the glaring hole it might have been. Smith isn’t being sold here as an elite answer, but he has been above average, and that matters. If he keeps performing the way he has early in the season, the Jets have bigger fires to put out elsewhere.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s recent suggestion that the Jets should trade for a quarterback feels off. The name floated was Mac Jones of the San Francisco 49ers, and landing him would require more than a minor swing. New York would have to give up real draft capital to get him.
The argument for Jones centers on what he did when Brock Purdy missed eight games a season ago. Jones went 5-3 in those starts and helped keep San Francisco on a playoff trajectory.
With Purdy now playing like an MVP candidate, the 49ers obviously aren’t eager to lose him again. Even so, the concern in San Francisco is that injuries have already piled up elsewhere this season, which is part of why Jones would not come cheap.
There’s also the bigger question of what Jones actually is at this point. He can be a strong option as a quarterback over the next couple of years, but when he has been asked to start throughout his career, he hasn’t been great. He looks more like a backup than a clear-cut starter, and that’s where the value conversation gets tricky.
And that’s the issue for the Jets. The 49ers are reportedly looking for second- or third-round draft capital, and that’s a price New York shouldn’t seriously entertain for a player who isn’t a guaranteed starter.
In Other News...
Jets Loss Raised A Bigger Concern Than Just One Bad Sunday
The Jets left Week 4 with a 1-3 record, but the loss to the Bears felt like more than just another bad Sunday. Chicago kept the pressure on with a long, sustained offensive rhythm, running 89 plays and finding success both on the ground and through the air, which put New Yorks defense in chase mode for much of the afternoon. For a team trying to establish some early-season footing, that kind of imbalance is a warning sign as much as it is a loss.
Geno Smiths uneven day added to the unease, as he completed 8 of 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown while the offense never really found a steady pulse. Garrett Wilson and other key pieces were not featured enough, which only sharpened the sense that this was not just about one quarterback or one game plan. The bigger concern is whether the Jets are already drifting into a pattern where both sides of the ball are too inconsistent to support a turnaround. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Backfield Question Just Got More Uncomfortable For Aaron Glenn
Isaiah Davis has become one of the quieter mysteries in the Jets backfield, and the timing has only made it more noticeable. Even with Breece Hall sidelined for a recent game because of injury, Davis did not get an offensive snap, while Braelon Allen handled all 14 carries in the loss to the Chicago Bears. For a third-year running back on a team still sorting out its rushing workload, that kind of usage raises obvious questions about how the Jets are viewing the depth chart.
Aaron Glenn has not publicly explained Daviss absence from the offense, and Davis himself has not addressed the lack of touches. In a backfield already under scrutiny, the silence only adds to the unease around how the Jets are managing their running backs and whether they have enough trust in the options behind Hall. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Have A New Reason To Revisit That Chippy Lions Loss
The Jets already had plenty to stew over from that chippy loss to Detroit, and the leagues latest accountability report added another layer to it. On Wednesday, the NFL fined Lions receiver Jameson Williams $23,417 for unnecessary roughness after helmet-to-helmet contact in the game against New York, a reminder of how heated that matchup got and how often the Lions were walking a line.
Williams has now been fined multiple times this season, including earlier penalties for taunting and illegal celebrations, and he was not the only Detroit player on the report. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Jahmyr Gibbs also drew fines for celebrations and vulgar acts, giving Jets fans a fresh reason to revisit a game that already carried more edge than the final score suggested. [Read more 🡒]