The Zach Wilson Era is over in New York

New York Jets, Featured, Football, Professional

April 23, 2024

The Zach Wilson Era in New York is finally over after three years of mostly headaches with occasional hopefulness.

On Monday, just a few days before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Jets traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos for a pick swap. In return, the Broncos received a sixth-round pick, and the Jets received a seventh-round pick with Wilson. According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the Jets will split Wilson's $5.5 million salary this year with Denver.

This move has been in the making since the Jets benched Wilson for the second time in his young career last season. It took a while for the Jets to find a deal, as they were not going to just trade Wilson for the sake of trading him. Jets' general manager Joe Douglas finally found a deal he liked, so the Zach Wilson era is over.

Wilson is just another failed quarterback in Jets history, following in the footsteps of Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, and Sam Darnold. During his tenure with Gang Green, Wilson had 23 touchdowns, 25 interceptions, and 6,293 yards passing. The statistics show what you see on the field: Wilson could not develop with the Jets. Last season, he threw for 2,271 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Under Wilson, the Jets were nothing but a disappointment with losing seasons. They had bottom-tier offenses every year and could not score touchdowns. Wilson was not great, but it does not all fall on his shoulders. New York had lackluster play from their offensive line and even their weapons. Besides standouts Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, the Jets have not had much help from anyone else.

A young quarterback, a bad offensive line, and a lack of weapons usually lead to disaster. They certainly did for the Jets, but Wilson still was not able to develop in the way you hope a quarterback does.

You can argue all day about what went wrong here and how much of it was Wilson's fault, but he did not play well for a team looking to contend. After last year's plan of having Wilson sit for a few seasons behind Aaron Rodgers, that plan went out the window with Rodgers' injury. Zack was thrown into the fire, and he once again played badly.

You may wonder why they didn't return to their original plan for this season with Rodgers back. The damage was done, and it was too late for Wilson to have a career in New York. He had been benched twice, and there were many issues with the coaching staff over the handling of his situation. It was time for a fresh start for both parties; there was no coming back from this past season.

Wilson might have been dealt a lousy hand, but that is the nature of professional sports. You must succeed when it is your time to shine, and Wilson did not. He did show flashes of good football, but it needed to be more consistent. The bad outweighed the good by a large margin. Wilson will have that chance to get a fresh start in Denver with Sean Payton as his head coach.

The Broncos' quarterback room consists of Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, and Ben DiNucci. Wilson looks to be the guy in the quarterback room as of right now. Of course, the draft is coming up, and Denver is a primary candidate to draft a quarterback at some point. Regardless, Wilson will get a new opportunity in a new home to try and develop further as a player, hoping to become that starting caliber quarterback the Jets thought he was.

The Jets can finally move on from the rumblings and drama of the Zach Wilson trade saga and finally put to rest the big miss of drafting Wilson with the second overall pick in 2021. They also gained another draft pick in the sixth round, continuing to build a complete team for this upcoming season and hoping to compete for a championship.

Wilson is just now another quarterback who did not succeed in the green and white. The Jets will look to take a break from having a young quarterback for the next few seasons with Rodgers behind center. Inevitably, though, another rookie quarterback will be behind center for the Jets one day. With all eyes on him, fans and coaches alike will hope he is the one that finally works out for them.