After a rather eventful summer, Denzel Mims is going to be entering the new season as a member of the New York Jets. The 24-year-old tried to force his way out of the team via trade but in the end, his attempt proved futile. At this point, it seems that both Mims and the Jets are now trying to find the best way to move forward and put this botched trade demand behind them.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas recently spoke out about Mims' botched move, and the high-ranking team executive revealed that they did what they could to try and trade him during the offseason (via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic):

Douglas said the Jets “fielded some calls” from other teams about Mims — The Athletic reported that the Panthers were initially interested — but “ultimately nothing materialized. Especially anything we would consider the right value for a player of Denzel’s talent and ability.”

Mims was unhappy with how he fell in the pecking order in New York, and this was believed to be his primary motivation in demanding a trade. Now that the saga is over, Douglas spoke honestly about how all this has affected the team's position with regard to Mims' role on the squad:

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“I wouldn’t say he wants to be somewhere else. He wants to play,” Douglas said. “He wants to start. Denzel is very confident. He’s voiced that he feels he should be a starter. Ultimately, we want a team full of guys that feel like they should be the No. 1 guy. But Denzel loves the Jets, Denzel is a great person, a high-level competitor, and I think it wasn’t him wanting to be somewhere else, it’s him wanting to play more.”

What seems clear at this point is that Douglas still isn't ready to commit to giving Denzel Mims a more significant role. This might come somewhere down the road, but right now, the disgruntled wide receiver will be left with no choice but to fight for his playing time.

“We have to do what’s best for the New York Jets,” Douglas said. “We have to do what’s right by the player and what’s right for the team. Keeping Denzel, we have a great room. We have a very cool room of wide receivers and Denzel is a big part of that.”