FLORHAM PARK, NJ – The New York Jets, who once considered quarterback Sam Darnold an inviolable asset, are open to listening to trade deals.
“I will answer the call if it is made,” Joe Douglas, general manager, said in a video conference with reporters on Wednesday, confirming that the Jets are willing to make inquiries.
The Jets are facing an important quarterback decision: stay with Darnold, field a replacement with the No. 2 pick or perhaps follow Houston Texans star Deshaun Watson if he becomes available – a possible scenario that Douglas underestimates has.
Douglas said he is not in a hurry to make a quarterback decision, but there is an urgent deadline regarding safety Marcus Maye, a pending free agent whose agent struck out on social media on Tuesday night on the Jets. The GM rejected the criticism, saying the goal was to sign Maye on a long-term contract. If that doesn’t work out, they can use the franchise label by Tuesday.
The quarterback drama remains the main one, especially in light of Darnold’s struggles.
On the 2019 trading deadline, Douglas said he would listen to every player’s offers except a franchise quarter, and he placed Darnold in the category. It is clear that this position has changed. Since the end of the season, the organization has remained unlimited on Darnold.
“As for Sam, we think Sam is a dynamic player in this league with incredible talent,” Douglas said. “He really has a chance to exploit his superior potential. [But] if calls are made I will answer them. ‘
The Jets have already received several calls from interested teams, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported earlier. Their plan is to evaluate the top backs in the draft before making a decision on Darnold. The top candidate with the no. 2-choice presumably becomes the Zach Wilson of BYU. Douglas said they have “as much information – good information – as we can possibly gather” about the available quarterbacks. Another option is to stick with Darnold and swap the second choice for a slew of concepts.
The game card is Watson. With two first rounds in the upcoming draft and two more in 2022, the Jets have the ammunition to make a trade of that caliber.
As a rule, Douglas is banned from commenting directly on Watson, but he does not look excited about the prospect of trading significant draft capital for one player. This can, of course, be an attitude.
“Obviously we have a lot of different scenarios and there are a lot of rabbit holes we could go through,” he replied to a general question about a possible blockbuster deal. ‘Not to get so much into a hypothetical question, but I’m just going back to [our philosophy].
“For us to get where the big teams are, the most consistent teams are, you do it through the concept. It’s the team-friendly sports market. For us to be a team that competes for Super Bowls throughout, we have to to beat concept choice. ‘
The Jets have a history of trading the best concepts. They traded Jamal Adams last summer with an unfortunate safety, and now Maye – his former buddy – seems disillusioned by negotiations. Agent Erik Burkhardt tweeted that the Jets “refuse to take care of their best player, captain and team-selected MVP.”
… refuses to take care of their best player, captain, and team-determined MVP in his best time who had multiple All-Pro votes … and who played out his entire rookie deal and even changed positions in his contract year (after getting rid of last year’s All-Pro safety. ✌🏼
– Erik Burkhardt (@ErikBurkhardt) March 3, 2021
Douglas wiped it off, indicating it was part of the business and negotiations. He said they had ‘productive talks’ with Maye’s agents, adding:’ Our plan has not changed. We’re working to get Marcus here in the long run. ‘