Getty New York Jets wide receiver Denzel Mims making a huge play in the preseason.
Another chapter in the infamous Denzel Mims saga continued on Saturday afternoon.
The talented New York Jets wide receiver has been mired in controversy. After a changing of the guard this offseason to Robert Saleh, many expected the second-year stud to make a major leap in his sophomore campaign.
Unfortunately for a variety of reasons that hasn’t transpired in 2021. Most recently he found himself as a healthy scratch on the bench in Week 2 vs the New England Patriots.
With his high draft status, as a former second-round pick, and the lack of clarity with his role on the team a lot of people have speculated about his immediate NFL future.
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Joe Douglas Isn’t Budging a Single Inch
With Mims’ role shrinking and him being deactivated on Sunday, it caught a lot of fans by surprise. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones who were caught off guard, so were other NFL teams across the league:
“Teams around the league are seeing it [his incredible ability] because he was inactive last week and might be this week as well, we’ll see,” NFL Insider Mike Garafolo. “[NFL] teams have been calling and calling and they called again this week to ask if Denzel Mims is available, you guys aren’t using him? Those teams were turned away. So as much as the Jets coaching staff is being a little hard on Mims right now and not using him, the people in that organization including Joe Douglas and the front office still believe in Denzel Mims. They said nope he’s not available via trade right now. “
It isn’t surprising that teams have been calling, the situation is bizarre.
Why wouldn’t you be using a highly thought of second-round pick and making him a healthy scratch? That caused teams to call and explore the possibility of acquiring a very talented player on the cheap.
Finally Some Good News on the Mims Front
After Mims’ rookie season, there was so much hope among the Jets fan base that they finally ended the second-round wide receiver curse.
There have been some really bad ones over the years (Stephen Hill, Devin Smith), but it seemed like the green and white got it right:
- 23 receptions for 357 yards and averaged over 15.5 yards per reception in just eight games in 2020.
While things have gone very poorly this season with a constant battle between the Jets key decision-makers and the fans over this Mims situation, it seems like there is some great news that can come out of this latest juicy nugget.
The Jets still believe in Mims and they rejected several trade requests over the last few weeks.
While his short-term future seems weird with the numbers game at wideout, his long-term prognosis seems set in stone with this organization.
If a receiver is going to be moved, it’ll likely be Keelan Cole or Jamison Crowder. Both are set to be unrestricted free agents next spring.
Hopefully, the former Baylor product can find a way to get out of the dog house he currently resides in so he can still contribute this season. Although either way it seems like Mims is going to be here for the long haul and that should give every Jets fan a major sigh of relief.
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