Jets Offseason Road Map: Three players that have to go

This is almost as much for him as it is for the Jets. The Zach Wilson experiment was the definition of “wrong guy for the wrong team”. Wilson was a disaster in New York even when they tried to avoid relying on him.

The Jets went into 2023 with the belief that Wilson would only see the field in late game mop-up duty and soak in all the knowledge Aaron Rodgers was willing to impart to him. Four offensive plays into the season, that plan went out the window and the Jets were forced to watch Wilson (or worse) try and run an offense the way only Rodgers could do.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Wilson was all but run out of town, and then was begged to return, and then ended with a suspicious “head injury” that looked an awful lot like a guy who wasn’t willing to risk his health for a team that let him know he wouldn’t be around next season.

The Jets will look to trade Wilson, and as long as they don’t draw to hard a line in the sand, should be able to get anywhere from a third to a fifth-round pick for the physically talented quarterback.

The Jets need to rethink the way they view their backup quarterback situation this year behind Rodgers. If 2023 taught us anything, it was the importance of having a competent backup quarterback, and that should go double for a team who is preparing to start a 40-year-old next year.

The three quarterbacks next year on the Jets roster should be Rodgers, a good veteran backup and a day three developmental rookie.

As for Wilson, he should go to a QB friendly coach with an established veteran for a chance to reinvent himself. I am thinking the Minnesota Vikings look like a good landing spot for Wilson.

2. Randall Cobb

Oh, you are Aaron Rodgers’ best friend? Great. Can you play wide receiver in the NFL still? No? Well, then there’s the door.

Randall Cobb is a non-factor in the Jets’ offense except to tell the Jets receivers with talent what Rodgers expects of them. You know who else can do that? A coach. Or Rodgers himself. Or they can learn the hard way like receivers of old.

Cobb had an abysmal season, and that is saying something considering the entire Jets offense had an abysmal season. There is simply no room on this roster for people that don’t contribute on the field and Cobb is past the days where he is a factor between the lines.

I don’t imagine there will be too much of a market for the soon to be 31-year-old Cobb and maybe the Jets can bring him back as some sort of coach, but his playing days for New York should be over.

3. C.J. Uzomah

Uzomah signed with the Jets as a free agent back in 2022 coming from the Cincinnati Bengals. He was much more of a factor in the Bengals offense when they went to the Super Bowl than he was for the Jets in the two years he donned the green and white.

Uzomah signed a three-year $24 million contract with the Jets and was almost immediately supplanted as TE1 by fellow free agent signing Tyler Conklin. The Jets then drafted Jeremy Ruckert out of Ohio State leaving the tight end room a little crowded.

C.J. had a rash of injuries with the Jets which limited his playing time. The injuries along with the emergence of Conklin and Ruckert have made Uzomah an afterthought in an offense that struggled to do anything. In two seasons with the Jets, Uzomah has 29 receptions for just over 300 yards and three touchdowns.

The one part of Uzomah’s game that will be missed is his leadership off the field. C.J. is a great locker room presence and a fantastic teammate. But the reality of the business is that sometimes teams need to part with good guys to make room for better players.

Unlike Cobb, the Jets will likely have to cut Uzomah as there won’t be a market for him to trade. To move on from the 31-year-old Uzomah this season would be a dead cap hit of just under $6 million which isn’t too bad. 

Be sure to check back in for more on the Jets offseason in the coming days and weeks.