Should Jets Trade Zach Wilson For Trey Lance?

This former Jets scout breaks down the possibility of New York moving Zach Wilson in exchange for 49ers QB Trey Lance.

A little less than two years ago quarterbacks Zach Wilson and Trey Lance were the talk of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Perhaps, this is why Bill Parcells used to say, "Two years in the NFL is a lifetime."

That was then and this is now, as both of these star-crossed signal callers are in need of a change of venue.

Wilson, because he has produced more drama off the field than production on the field.

With Lance it's several things including under-performance, being injury plagued and being replaced as the future in San Francisco by "Mr. Irrelevant," quarterback, Brock Purdy.

As stated, "Broadway Zach," was in the news a lot this past off-season, seemingly focused on everything but football.

"Everybody wants the big job in New York until they get it," is another Parcells' saying that goes through my mind when I think of Wilson.

Pre-draft, I never believed the Big Apple was a good fit for Wilson. In fact, it was the worst fit imaginable. Wilson came across as a soft kid with a high sense of entitlement and that doesn't fly in a town where having thick-skin and charisma are required dress code for quarterbacks.

My very first impression of Lance in college was, "A poor man's Donovan McNabb," and these were some of my pre-draft words on him:

The film clearly shows possible UFA [undraftable free agent], practice squad, scout team type of prospect with no upside. The classic over-hyped player who put up stats at a lesser level of competition, but do not let that fool you. Lance will excel at a pro day, where teams will grossly over-inflate his value, as he runs around in non-football game conditions. The film clearly shows his struggles in a number of areas. Lacks confidence. It is absolutely absurd he is even in first-round draft discussions. Lance is the most overrated prospect in my 40 years of watching football.

Neither Wilson nor Lance would have been on my first-round draft board had I been the general manager of either team, but this isn't about me. It's about Wilson, Lance, Jets' Head Coach Robert Saleh, and 49ers' Head Coach Kyle Shanahan.

The plot thickens.

Why?

Saleh and Shanahan are two old friends who worked together in San Francisco, and people who know each other is how business gets done in the National Football League.

Both have serious problems after selecting quarterbacks who haven't panned out and need to get out from under these decisions.

If taking Wilson No. 2 overall in the 2021 draft wasn't bad enough, the 49ers' gave up three number ones to move up for Lance.

Contrary to the Jets' wishlist of successful veteran quarterbacks possibly available this off-season via trade or free agency, all of them have too steep a price tag for a Jets' team with a projected $7,945,955 of cap space.

With such little room to spare, this likely will thrust New York into going with a low-budget veteran option, drafting a rookie, or trading for a quarterback who is under a more cost effective rookie deal (like Lance).

While chatter suggests the possibility New York can clear some cap space by cutting some veterans of their own, that's not going to do it, because Jets' General Manager Joe Douglas has built what amounts to a tower of top heavy Legos.

• There are only five total returning offensive linemen under contract for 2023 (and four of them are coming off injury lists - the other 13 who were with the team in 2022 are free agents).
  
  
• There are 26 total free agents and only 45 players on the roster currently under contract for 2023.
  
• Jets' star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams wants a new deal by April (which could be in the neighborhood of between $20-31 million per season). His brother, linebacker Quincy Williams, the team's second-leading tackler is also an unrestricted free agent. He will not come cheap either in light of Ravens' linebacker Roquan Smith's recent record 5-year, $100 million deal. The Williams brothers alone could eat up whatever cap room the team can scrape together by making additional cuts at positions that will still need to be filled.

None of the three above talking points remotely lends to a conversation about the possibility of the Jets acquiring an accomplished veteran quarterback this off-season.

It does however lead us back to the very real possibility of two old friends making a deal involving Wilson and Lance for two teams heading in different directions. 

MORE:

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• Why Jets Chose to Part Ways With Mike LaFleur, Look For New Offensive Coordinator
• Jets Will Face These Teams During 2023 Season

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