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Since the arrival of Aaron Rodgers' close friend Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders, opposing NFL teams are reportedly interested in trading for New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
Wilson, who has at times struggled to get on the same page as Rodgers, appears to have a bright future ahead of him. The 10th overall draft pick two years ago, 24-year-old Wilson surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons in the NFL despite having numerous different quarterbacks throwing him the ball.
But with the Jets trading for Adams, reuniting the wideout with his former Green Bay Packers teammate Rodgers, teams inquired about whether that meant New York would consider parting ways with Wilson. The Jets, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, would not.
“After the New York Jets' acquisition of Davante Adams this week, a select group of NFL teams have inquired into whether the Jets would be willing to trade fellow star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, league sources told ESPN on Saturday,” Schefter wrote.
“The Jets have heard from other teams but are not planning to trade Wilson, according to sources.”
Could Garrett Wilson, Jets be heading toward contract-related breakup?
After this season, Wilson is under contract with the Jets for at least one more season, although New York has a team option the following year and very well could choose to place the franchise tag on Wilson after that. So while there would appear to be a long runway until the Jets have to take off on an extension with Wilson, as seen with Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who held out for most of the preseason ahead of his fourth year, players seem more eager than ever to try to force teams to sign a new deal with their star players.
To make matters more complicated, the market for wide receivers has also changed dramatically over the past year; the top seven largest contracts for wide receivers in terms of annual average salary were all signed this year, including Minnesota Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson's four-year, $140 million deal that includes $110 million guaranteed and effectively helped other receivers around the league increase their extensions' annual value.
When the time comes, if the Jets or Wilson decide to wait on an extension, it could have long-term ramifications. New York is certainly in win-now mode, so it may not be of much concern if Wilson, Rodgers, Adams, and Co. can turn things around and legitimately contend for a title before then.
However, in the more likely scenario that the Jets do not end up competing for a title, Wilson would appear to be a promising piece to build around after Rodgers, 40, and Adams, who may not be on the team next year, move on from New York. Whether the Jets will be willing to pay Wilson, though, remains to be seen.
