Zach Wilson Trade Update: No Suitors Found for $5.5 Million Earning New York Backup QB

Utsav Khanna | 24/03/2024
“The Environment Wasn’t All That Fun”: Zach Wilson Speaks Up on the Struggles in His Last Season With the Jets

Zach Wilson’s time in New York is all but over. Even with the injury to Aaron Rodgers last year, and getting a chance to showcase to the league what he’s made of, he struggled as the QB1 and it showed. Except for a few flashes in the pan over the last 3 years, Wilson has not shown enough that the New York Jets will find a suitor that will eat up the $5.5 million he’s guaranteed this year.

Jets reporter Rich Cimini believes that there’s only one potential suitor for Wilson and even they have a plan up their sleeve that doesn’t involve the New York backup. So, according to Cimini, there are no real landing spots left for Wilson.

Although he has permission to talk to other teams, the $5.5 million price tag he comes with is acting as a “deterrent” for teams who might be willing to take a flyer. Cimini says Kansas City is the only open spot for Wilson. But even backing up Patrick Mahomes is a luxury since the Chiefs might already be looking at Blaine Gabbert.

Currently, the Jets are hoping someone picks him up as a QB3. But the league is currently full of work-in-progress backup QBs and the markets are small. Thus, either they will have to pick up the tab for Wilson this year or cut him. Wilson, on the other hand, would hugely benefit from being cut, as he can find a real option without having to worry about what the Jets will think of the trade.

JJ McCarthy Draws Comparisons to Zach Wilson

After his recent Pro Day at Michigan, JJ McCarthy was all over NFL Twitter as fans started comparing his 65-yard throw to Zach Wilson’s. They believe that just like Zach Wilson “got” all the GMs and coaches with his throws on Pro Day but failed to deliver in real game situations, that’s what McCarthy will end up doing. Here are the top comments:

Some called McCarthy, the Zac Wilson of this year:

Here’s a reminder:

And the throw that they all are referring to:

Whether JJ McCarthy turns out to be like Zach Wilson or not remains to be seen. But the overarching point about Wilson not finding a suitable home at $5.5 million indicated 2 things. One, the teams should be very careful with who they put in charge of the future of their franchise. And two, it might not be the best idea to overpay for your star players until they become star players. Hype is exactly that, hype. And teams should be more financially responsible so that they don’t leave themselves and the players out to dry.

Post Edited By: Samnur Reza
Aaron Rodgers Kansas City Chiefs New York Jets Zach Wilson

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Utsav Khanna

Utsav Khanna, an NFL journalist with a keen eye for the game, has been covering the sport for the past two years, trying to bring the most interesting stories from and around the game. Armed with a degree in English Journalism from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication, he transitioned from a background in Public Relations to pursue his passion for sports reporting. Having penned over 200 insightful articles, he tries to bring in all the perspectives while writing as the NFL probably as one of the most intricate ecosystems in all of sports. A fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he admires the way Coach Mike Tomlin makes players buy-in into a system and entrusts them in challenging situations.

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