Copyright New York Daily News
The Jets have officially entered rebuilding mode after trading away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. Garrett Wilson was teammates with Gardner and Williams for the past four seasons. But at 1-7, coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey are attempting to turn around a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010 and has not finished with a winning record since 2015. Wilson says he is confident in the plan Glenn and Mougey have for the Jets organization. “I gotta do my job,” Wilson told reporters on Thursday. “I get paid to catch passes, block, help my teammates out, and make plays. They get paid to do that… I’m gonna go play football and I’m excited, man. I’m excited to go at this thing and they have a vision. Like I said, I don’t get paid to have a vision. They do it. And, you know, they got one. And I got to trust them, man. I do.” While Wilson was not a fan of the two trades, he understands the business of the NFL. “Yeah, my emotions, my emotions, like that side of it, I hate it. I hate it,” Wilson said. I play football, I play with my brothers, I get to know my brothers. I hate it. But, but, you know, I’m paid to play football. “No one cares if I hate it. Go catch a ball. That’s how I see it and that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna do my job to the best of my abilities, so that stuff like that. They feel like they can keep us all together, because that’s the reality of this thing. You don’t win games. You know, things change.” Considering their record, the Jets were out of playoff contention even before their bye in Week 9. So, Glenn and Mougey decided to invest in draft capital for the future by trading two of the Jets’ best defensive players. Gardner was traded to the Colts for two first-round picks (2026 and 2027) along with wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. The Jets also dealt Williams to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Gang Green has a combined five first-round picks in the subsequent two drafts, which gives them flexibility to either draft a franchise quarterback for the future or trade for a veteran quarterback on another team. But that’s not going to help Wilson and the Jets win games in 2025. Wilson and Gardner share a special bond after they were both selected by the Jets in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft within hours of each other. They each won the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards in 2022, and both received contract extensions in July ahead of training camp. “I mean, it’s gonna be an adjustment for me,” Wilson said. “I’m sure he’s going through it down in Indy. It’s a game of change.” Since he was drafted in 2022, Wilson has been one of the most productive Jets players. In his first three seasons, Wilson has averaged 93 receptions for 1,083 yards and 4.7 touchdowns during that time. However, Wilson missed the previous two games due to a knee injury he suffered during the Jets’ game against the Broncos in London. He watched from his home in New Jersey as the Jets secured their first win of the season against the Bengals on October 26, after the team started 0-7. “I felt like, watching them overcome, you know, just what they went through early in the game,” Wilson said about the 15-point comeback victory. You know, I feel like the offense was rolling. “For me, that’s all I really wanted to see. Just offense rolling, operating, and they were, and J. [Justin] Fields back in the home state, not in home state, but Ohio, doing what he loves, man. You know, honestly, I kind of expected him to ball out like they did. I can’t lie. I thought it was all gonna come together that week and it did.” Wilson returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time in three weeks, albeit on a limited basis. Although Glenn hasn’t announced if he will play against the Browns on Sunday, Wilson says he will be ready to go. “Stuff like this, you know, keeps me up,” Wilson said. And granted, I stayed away from that, but the things that I thought initially, that first day, I stayed away from the end. I’m thankful for it. “I never been injured in my whole career, man. Maybe it was good for me to realize that you ain’t gonna be out there every week, go about it the right way, every place, super important. Maybe I was taking it for granted a little bit, you know? I’m back to my old ways. I’m excited to go back out there.”
