The New York Jets have traded former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos on Monday. No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence is still with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The full trade sends Wilson and a seventh-round No. 256 overall pick to Denver. The Jets receive a sixth-round pick, No. 203 overall in return.
The two teams are splitting the quarterback’s $5.5 million salary for 2024.
In terms of the salary cap, the Jets will clear $2.75 million in space, meaning Wilson will count $8.43 million on this year’s cap in dead money.
The Jets-Wilson breakup came as no surprise, as the franchise announced Feb. 28 that it had granted him permission to speak to other teams about a potential trade. Wilson wanted a fresh start. He had endured a three-season rollercoaster.
The Jets told him as far back as last season that they would try to accommodate him, sources said.
The trade leaves Aaron Rodgers, 40, coming off Achilles surgery, and newly signed backup Tyrod Taylor, 34, as the only quarterbacks on the roster.
Wilson will be a free agent in 2025 because the Broncos aren’t expected to exercise his fifth-year option for $22.4 million. That decision must be made by May 2. He is due to make $5.45 million in 2024, in the final year of his contract.
After Wilson, Broncos would have the flexibility build their quarterback position.
“Look, I mean, do we have to draft a quarterback?” Broncos coach Sean Payton said last week.
“You’d say, man, it sure looks like we have to draft a quarterback and yet, it’s got to be the right fit, the right one. And if you had the tip sheets as to who everyone else was taking, it would be easier to answer that question. … That’s the puzzle here.’’
