The Zach Wilson Era of the New York Jets is officially over.
The writing had been on the wall for quite some time, but on Monday it was reported that the Jets were sending the former first-round pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this week’s NFL Draft.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had the news first.
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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
Rapoport then followed up by adding that the Jets would be sending their seventh-round pick to Denver, as well, in exchange for the Broncos’ sixth-rounder. The Jets will also pay a portion of Wilson’s salary.
Things never worked out for Wilson in New York. The Jets took him second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft in the hopes that he’d be the one to take the franchise to great heights finally. His three seasons were filled with drama, injuries, inconsistent play, benching, return to starting, and benching again.
Wilson started 33 games with the Jets and went 12-21 as the starter in those 33 games. He threw for 6,293 yards in his three seasons and had 23 touchdowns to 25 interceptions. After Aaron Rodgers went down with a season-ending injury on the first drive of the season, Wilson started the ensuing nine games before being replaced by Tim Boyle, who went on to be released before the season ended. Trevor Siemian replaced Boyle but was then replaced by Wilson until Wilson suffered a season-ending concussion in Week 15.