Getty New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas answering questions at a press conference.
The New York Jets might not have made a deal ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, general manager Joe Douglas “inquired” about making a blockbuster deal for a superstar wide receiver.
Douglas reached out to both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Las Vegas Raiders about star receivers Mike Evans and Davante Adams. However, both teams were unwilling to strike deals for their top talent.
Douglas Shares His Perspective on Lack of Activity for Jets at Deadline
Following the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, October 31 Douglas met with the media for over 17 minutes.
During that conversation he was specifically asked if they made any calls on the wide receiver market.
“We made a lot of calls on a lot of different positions and uh [starts to smile] it takes two to tango. So, there were a lot of calls, but we didn’t get a lot of deals done.”
Joe Douglas is asked if the Jets made any calls on the wide receiver market:
“We made a lot of calls on a lot of different positions. It takes two to tango.”
Evans or Adams would have added another No. 1 wide receiver to the Jets offense. Both players are 30 years of age and appear to be on teams heading on a one-way ticket to irrelevancy.
They have combined for 10 Pro Bowl nominations and 13 1,000 yard receiving campaigns.
Costello also reported that Douglas looked into acquiring some talent on the offensive line at the deadline but “could not find anything that worked.”
Jets Probably Should Have Still Added a WR
Matt O’Leary joined me on “Boy Green Daily” on Wednesday, November 1, and argued Gang Green still should have added a pass catcher to the squad even if it wasn’t one of the top guys.
“I mean that would have been the dream, right? Trading for a Davante Adams or Mike Evans type of receiver but I still think that they needed something at the position. I mean we saw Donovan Peoples-Jones go for a sixth. Even if it was a wide receiver of that caliber, like he would probably plug in as the Jets’ third-best wide receiver,” O’Leary argued on the show.
He then went on to complain about Randall Cobb being the Jets’ current third receiver right now in 2023.
“I’m a fan of Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee. I’m excited they are getting an opportunity but having two UDFA [undrafted free agents] rookie wide receivers try to carve out a role in a passing offense that is already struggling is a big challenge.”
The bar for O’Leary was pretty low at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, October 31 for the Jets to clear.
“I would have liked to add just a professional-level wide receiver. It would’ve been great to see an Evans or an Adams or someone of that caliber but even if it was more in that DPJ tier, they just needed someone. I was a little critical of Joe Douglas for not finding a move. That would have been something key to do ahead of the deadline.”
With the trade deadline now passed, the Jets will have to rely on other creative avenues to add talent through the rest of the season.