Trade Idea: Jets Deal Zach Wilson for Commanders' Sam Howell

Could the New York Jets and Washington Commanders swap their young quarterbacks in a trade during the offseason? What would that look like? Would a move work for either team's cap situation?

There haven't been teams with bad quarterback luck as bad as both the New York Jets and Washington Commanders. 

Since 2002, the Commanders have used 15 different starts while the Jets have gone through 21. It's led to a playoff-winless drought of over 18 years for Washington, and a 13-year postseason-less drought for New York. 

Washington is about to start Jacoby Brissett on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers while the Jets are turning toward Trevor Siemian on Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns. 

Nov 12, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) signals to the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field / Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Looking forward to the 2024 offseason though, the Commanders and Jets could be connected at the quarterback position. With Aaron Rodgers expected to make a full recovery next year for Gang Green, many analysts and fans are looking for New York to try and trade former second-overall pick Zach Wilson. 

Per Tankathon, the Commanders are slated to have the third-overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft - a clear sign that a new front office could move second-year project Sam Howell to draft one of the top quarterbacks of the class. 

Could Washington and New York trade their young quarterbacks for each other? How would that look? According to Spotrac, the move not only is something to watch for but is easily manageable. 

The universally beloved cap site predicted that the Jets could ship Wilson and a fifth-round pick to Washington for Howell. Should a move be made, it would allow New York to do away with the $5.4 million cap hit that is guaranteed for the BYU product. 

It's Wilson's contract that would be the biggest albatross to a deal even with the Commanders expected to have close to $90 million in space next year. 

With a contract that hefty, many teams may feel Wilson's price tag is too high to pay for an upcoming backup quarterback, regardless of his talent. Teams might wait to see if the Jets cut their former franchise quarterback to get him at a more manageable deal. 

If New York were to make a move for Wilson, they would probably have to add a future draft pick to that deal for it to be manageable for other organizations. 

Howell, on the other hand (as a late-round pick), only has two years left on his rookie deal with cap hits under a combined $3 million. He could be a serviceable backup to Rodgers while also being the project many Jets fans are looking to have paired with a veteran. 

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For Washington, they would have a young project of a quarterback to pair with a new head coach, front office, and eventual top quarterback selected. It's clear from his time in New York that Wilson needs a reset at the entire position. His footwork, knowledge, and overall consistency need to improve so a couple of years of sitting behind a rookie isn't the worst idea ever. 

There are certainly cap gymnastics the Jets and Commanders would have to go through to make a deal like this work, but the idea of swapping Wilson and Howell might be the best opportunity for both organizations to start over.