- Wilson was the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of BYU
- None of his three seasons in the Big Apple gave Jets fans confidence
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Zach Wilson’s tumultuous stint with the New York Jets appears to be coming to an end as he has reportedly been traded to the Denver Broncos.
The trade also includes a late-round pick swap between the teams, with Denver taking possession of one of the Jets’ seventh-round picks at No. 256, the penultimate selection.
New York picks up a sixth-rounder at No. 207 overall. The Jets will also pick up exactly half of Wilson’s $5.5 million salary for next season. per NFL.com. Each team will earn $2.75 million.
Wilson was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after a stellar college career at BYU.
Wilson quickly fell out of favor with the franchise after a rookie season in which he was 3-10 as a starter and threw 11 interceptions.
Zach Wilson’s terrible stint with the Jets is over as he has been traded to the Denver Broncos
Aaron Rodgers was traded to New York after Wilson’s second season with the team
Wilson was benched during his second NFL season after a Week 14 loss to the Patriots, where he completed just nine passes.
After his permanent demotion to backup quarterback, the Jets traded for four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers before last season.
Rodgers’ first season with the Jets lasted four games after a season-ending Achilles injury, giving Wilson an unexpected opportunity to prove himself again in the NFL.
“I have some personal guilt about the whole thing,” Rodgers said of the Jets 2023 woes. “I’m angry I didn’t get to play [due to injury] and frustrated that if I was out there and I felt like I was playing well, obviously there would be different stories around our team.
“And Zach would get another opportunity to learn and grow and see what it looks like without the pressure, and to be able to sit in those meetings and go through the season and just watch me and my process. ‘
Wilson has had a great college career at BYU, but hasn’t translated that into success in the NFL
Wilson was benched again midseason in Week 11 after even more dismal play, including seven lost fumbles.
“We need a spark,” Rodgers acknowledged after Wilson’s second benching. “I feel for Zach. I love Zach. Zach is such a great kid and I think he still has a bright future in the league. This has been a tough task for all of us. Often in these situations there are a lot of guys that they have to scapegoat. I think there’s plenty of blame out there, a number of different positions.
“This was clearly not the way any of us thought this was going to happen,” Rodgers continued, speaking about the 2023 season. “It was going to be about me and my show, and Zach was going to learn and watch it firsthand without the to have pressure to go there and play. So this is clearly disappointing.”
Now Wilson is hoping to get a fresh start with Denver, which is looking for a starting quarterback after moving on from Russell Wilson after two seasons with the former Super Bowl winner as signal caller.