The Denver Broncos have acquired quarterback Zach Wilson and a seventh-round pick (No. 256) from the New York Jets for a sixth-rounder (No. 203). The Jets also will pay a portion of Wilson’s remaining salary.
Why they made the deal
Wilson’s time with the Jets had run its course. He was essentially on borrowed time when they acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers a year ago, but the hourglass shattered during another turbulent season in 2023.
Jets owner Woody Johnson claimed they wouldn’t release Wilson if they couldn’t find a trade partner, but that approach would’ve been much messier than necessary. And frankly, after Wilson’s fellow 2021 first-round classmates — Trey Lance, Mac Jones and Justin Fields — were traded for marginal returns, the Jets should consider it a win that they were able to deal Wilson at all.
The Broncos are again resetting at quarterback. They released Russell Wilson this offseason and will face salary cap repercussions that will make it difficult to win for a couple of years.
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Zach Wilson will join Jarrett Stidham and likely a rookie in a competition for the starting job. If the Broncos use a first-round pick on a quarterback, it’ll probably be a long shot that Wilson comes out victorious in a camp battle. But with a later pick at QB, the competition might be wide open with the former No. 2 selection getting a badly needed opportunity to start over.
Trade grade (Broncos): C-plus
The Broncos are in the very early stages of an organizational reset, and it will take a while to dig themselves out of the hole they created with Russell Wilson’s contract. For cap purposes, it wouldn’t have been practical to make a significant financial investment in a quarterback with Wilson’s dead money still in the way. It would make it incredibly difficult to build out the rest of the roster without hitting home run after home run in the next couple of drafts.
So the Broncos are hoping head coach Sean Payton can do wonders for Stidham, Zach Wilson or a draft pick. Ownership needs to be realistic with its expectations for a couple of years. If Payton develops a budget-conscious QB or a rookie, that’ll accelerate the rebuild. If not, they’ll be picking high in the next draft or two anyway.
This wouldn’t preclude the Broncos from taking a quarterback with the 12th pick, as long as there’s someone they like still on the board. But it probably does indicate the Broncos have determined it’d be too expensive to trade up to select one of the more preferred QBs in the top four.
If they felt confident in their ability to move up, adding Wilson to the depth chart with Stidham wouldn’t have made much sense. Furthermore, without a second-round pick in this draft, it also might have been illogical to trade away more future assets — like a 2025 first-rounder — to move up for the fourth QB with so many other holes still to fill.
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Trade grade (Jets): B-minus
This is a trade grade that must be viewed as a separate entity from the failure at all levels to draft and develop Wilson. Perhaps time will better indicate whether the Jets deserve more blame for either misevaluating the prospect before the draft or just continuing to put him in a position that was not conducive for any quarterback to succeed.
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As for the actual trade, again, the Jets deserve credit for getting anything at all for Wilson. Not only did the whole league know Wilson was available, but teams also recognized it wasn’t practical for him to return to New York in 2024. Few personnel executives believed the Jets would be able to move Wilson because of those factors.
Even though the Jets are eating some of Wilson’s remaining salary, they’re getting better cap relief than an outright release. And they were able to jockey for better positioning as the draft winds down late Saturday afternoon.
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(Photo of Wilson: Rich Storry / Getty Images)
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
