3 realistic Sam Darnold trades the Jets should make

1. Washington wants to win now

If the Jets are moving off Darnold, so be it. Let’s not act as if they didn’t fail him as much as he failed to produce a winning culture for Gang Green. But again, there’s so much potential for a high-end, middle-tier starter with Darnold that a team is going to give him a shot.

Washington offers that best chance.

The Football Team might be getting a new name, but they’ll be adding talent to pair with Terry McLaurin at wide receiver. A top-10 franchise in salary cap space this offseason, Ron Rivera is a perfect player’s coach, meaning veterans might be willing to take a slight pay cut to work with one of the best at utilizing lesser talent.

The NFC East as a whole is Washington’s for the taking. All they need is a quarterback.

Should WFT throw in a late-round pick that could expand higher in 2022, this should get the deal done. Washington is either going to overpay for a proven veteran, trade plenty of draft capital to move up for an unproven talent or run it back with Taylor Heinicke and Alex Smith rotating.

All three a terrible options.

Martin Mayhew understands the value of a quarterback. He also values draft picks. This is a win both ways — for Washington and their hopeful short rebuilding future and for Darnold starting fresh.