Jets Trade Zach Wilson to Broncos for Late Round Pick Swap, per Report

The No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL draft is getting sent to Denver.

Dec 3, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) reacts on / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Wilson and the New York Jets are officially over. After taking him second overall in 2021 and spending three miserable seasons together, the Jets have traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos.

In exchange for the 24-year old quarterback, the teams swapped a sixth and a seventh round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Additionally, the Jets will pay part of Wilson's salary.

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Former #Jets starting QB and No. 2 pick Zach Wilson is on the move. Sources say he’s being traded to the #Broncos, hoping for a fresh start.

The deal includes a late-round pick swap (6th for a 7th) and NYJ will pay some of Wilson’s roughly $5.5M salary. pic.twitter.com/7Y1KShZ3sg

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 22, 2024

Wilson went 8-14 in his first two seasons before the Jets replaced him with Aaron Rodgers during the 2023 offseason. But Rodgers got hurt on the first drive of the year and Wilson was again forced onto the field and asked to lead a deeply flawed team, except this time it was on short notice. He completed a career high 60% of his pass attempts, but the Jets continued to struggle and went 4-7 with him starting in place of Rodgers. Now Wilson will get a fresh start in Denver.

The Broncos are also starting over this year. Following a wasted season with Russell Wilson under center, Denver now has a quarterback depth chart that consists of the newcomer Wilson, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci. A true grab bag of failed AFC East and NFC East backup quarterbacks.

Stidham started the final two games of the season for Denver and completed 60% of his passes to go along with two touchdowns and one interception and the Broncos even won one of those games. DiNucci spent most of last season on the Broncos' practice squad and hasn't appeared in a game since he was with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.

Broncos coach Sean Payton is entering the second season of a five-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $18 million annually. Certainly, with this new stable of quarterbacks, Payton will finally be able to implement his true vision. Or this is just preamble to another move to turn the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft into one of the top quarterbacks in the draft. Stay tuned!