Expect the Jets to work the phones ahead of the NFL trade deadline — just not about Breece Hall or Garrett Wilson
Jets running back Breece Hall is tackled by Kansas City safety Jaden Hicks during the first half of an NFL game Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Ed Zurga
The Jets have one more win than they had at last year’s NFL trade deadline, when they decided to blow things up by trading Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.
No one is expecting them to be sellers this year. The equivalent of doing what they did last year would be to move on from Garrett Wilson or Breece Hall by Tuesday’s deadline. It would be surprising if the Jets did that. They wouldn’t get nearly as much back as the haul general manager Darren Mougey received for Gardner and Williams.
Mougey had to make those trades with the Colts and Cowboys, respectively. The Jets got three first-round picks (two in 2027), a second-rounder, Adonai Mitchell and Mazi Smith. Those two No. 1s plus the Jets' own first-rounder this year should position them to take a quarterback and fill other holes on this roster.
The Colts are having a fire sale. Their pick could be in the top three. The way the Jets are going, theirs might not be that far behind. Both teams have 2-7 records.
Kansas City handed the Jets a 35-12 defeat on Sunday, their seventh loss in eight games. The Jets are two defeats away from clinching an 11th straight losing season. Being eliminated from postseason contention for the 16th consecutive year seems to be inevitable.
That’s why Mougey has to be on the phone, taking and making calls. He has to see if there are ways to improve the Jets for the next head coach.
It will be difficult for Aaron Glenn to survive this season. The Jets weren’t expected to contend, but they should be better. They’ve dropped four in a row, with Glenn’s defense allowing 31.8 points during this skid.
There have been reports that Mougey is telling other teams that Wilson and Hall are not available. Those teams will reach out again to see if anything changed with the latest loss. Desperate teams might be willing to part with more assets, and then Mougey could have a tough decision to make.
“We’re in the business of keeping good players,” Glenn has said, trying to dismiss the idea that either Wilson or Hall will be traded.
There might be smaller deals for Mougey to make involving some defensive players who aren’t part of the future — Will McDonald, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Nahshon Wright, to name a few.
Wilson and Hall arguably are the Jets’ two best players and part of a good and relatively young nucleus on offense. The Jets don’t believe they’re that far away from that standpoint. They believe they have the pieces and want as many playmakers as possible when they add a young quarterback from next year's draft to the mix. Better coaching all around would help, too.
Wilson didn’t play on Sunday because of a concussion, and his presence was missed. The Jets didn’t score a touchdown despite being in Kansas City territory on five of their first six possessions.
Not taking full advantage of scoring opportunities is something Hall said has been happening “the last however many years we’ve been here.” He said it’s not always the play-calling, either; it’s the players, too.
“Sometimes players got to make plays,” Hall said. “Regardless, when you get down there, it's not about the play call. It's about who wants it, players making plays and getting it to your guys. We got to figure out how to make it work.”
At some point, the Jets have to figure out how to make it work with Wilson and Hall. If this decade-plus of futility is to end, they can’t keep trading away their best players.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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