The New York Jets didn’t have much time to celebrate their stunning overtime win on Monday night before head coach Robert Saleh broke bad news: Aaron Rodgers is expected to be diagnosed with a season-ending Achilles tendon injury after an MRI Tuesday morning, having fallen awkwardly during a tackle against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium.
What does it have to do with the New Orleans Saints? We’ll get to that after a little more window-dressing.
Buy Saints TicketsZach Wilson did enough for the team to rally into a win against the Bills, but it was a team effort all around. New York’s defense intercepted Josh Allen three times and sacked him five times. He’s tied with Tommy Maddox as the least-clutch quarterback of all time with an NFL-record five losses in overtime. It took a miraculous punt return by undrafted rookie Xavier Gipson and an embarrassing lack of effort by Bills punter Sam Martin to spring the game-winning touchdown return. This isn’t a sustainable strategy. Practice squad quarterback Tim Boyle is the only other passer under contract with the Jets.
Jameis Winston isn’t just an upgrade over Wilson. He might be a better pick for the Jets than any of the free agents available. The list of prospects is grim: unless the Jets can get Matt Ryan or Philip Rivers out of retirement (and there’s no way Tom Brady returns again, to play for the New England Patriots’ top rival, after they just honored him in front of tens of thousands of fans in the rain?), their best bet would be Carson Wentz or another washed-up backup like Joe Flacco or Nick Foles.
Yeah, Winston is a better choice than anyone in that group. Wentz has burned bridges with every locker room he’s ever stepped into and he’s exactly the sort of toxic personality who could ruin what the Jets are trying to build. Neither Flacco nor Foles would be upgrades over Wilson. The Jets could hitch their wagon to him and maybe skate by, but Winston would be a safer bet. He’s thrown more touchdown passes than interceptions in his career, which is more than Wilson can say.
But would the Saints part with Winston? It’s more likely than you’d think. He hasn’t been a good fit in their offense and Sean Payton had to strip away many of the attributes that made him such an exciting prospect just to play him. It’s no mistake that Derek Carr ran a more efficient version of the offense than Winston, Andy Dalton, or Trevor Siemian did the last two years. They may feel they’re doomed with or without Winston on the team should Carr miss time. Some combination of Taysom Hill and Jake Haener might be a preferable alternative.
That’s not to say the Saints should trade Winston for nothing. He’s still an experienced passer in this league and a respected leader in the locker room in New Orleans. He has value to the team. If the Jets try and make a lowball offer, the Saints would be well within their rights to drive a hard bargain from a position of strength — or end the call right then and there. After all, maybe we’re wrong, and they value Winston more than any mid-round pick the Jets could send them.
But if you’re curious, these are the picks the Jets can trade in the 2024 draft (with their second rounder going to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Rodgers):
- Round 1
- Round 3
- Round 4
- Round 4 (via Broncos or Dolphins)
- Round 6
I’m just saying: it would be very funny if the Jets traded the 2024 fourth-round pick they’re getting from the Broncos (for defensive end Jake Martin, who isn’t even on their team anymore) to the Saints for Winston. New Orleans would be getting Denver’s picks in rounds two, four, and seven. I don’t know if that’s realistic, but it is a funny possibility.
