Zach Wilson’s messy Jets career to end with reported trade to Broncos

The New York Jets are reportedly trading former first-round pick Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos, ending a career with the team that ranged from satisfying to disastrous.

Wilson will compete with Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci to be the Broncos’ starter next season, although Denver may select a quarterback in this week’s draft. ESPN reports that the Broncos sent a sixth-round pick to the Jets in exchange for Wilson and a seventh-round pick. New York will also pay a portion of Wilson’s $5.5 million salary in 2024.

The Jets selected Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft as the team hoped to avoid another failure at quarterback selection. But there were some who believed Wilson’s gaudy college numbers at BYU were disproportionately boosted by a strong supporting cast and a weak opposing schedule. Those doubts seemed to be true as Wilson struggled in his first season, though he showed occasional glimpses of his talent and wasn’t helped by a weak team around him. The Jets started the 2022 season strong, but Wilson had little to do with their success. was unpopular with some of his teammates and was benched towards the end of the campaign.

When the team traded for Aaron Rodgers before the start of last season, Wilson seemed primed for a stint as a backup, where he could potentially learn from one of the all-time greats. But Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury in his Jets debut and Wilson was called back into action as the Jets starter. 2023 was statistically the best of Wilson’s Jets career – and the only one in which he threw more touchdowns than interceptions – but he still failed to play like a first-round quarterback and with Rodgers returning from injury, he has the Jets decided to move on .

In 33 starts over three seasons, the 24-year-old threw for 6,239 yards, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. His QBR of 30.6 in 2023 was the worst among qualified starters in the N.F.L.