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The New York Jets have a surplus at quarterback for the first time maybe in franchise history.
With Zach Wilson entrenched as the starting quarterback and Joe Flacco and Mike White filling the roster as capable spot starters, trading away one of the backups for a veteran lineman could fill a weak spot on the Jets’ defense.
Enter the Los Angeles Rams.
Beyond 34-year-old starter Matthew Stafford, whom the Rams signed to a four-year extension, the team’s backup quarterback situation is questionable, with a virtually unproven third-year player, John Wolford, and a rookie, Bryce Perkins. Meanwhile, their defensive line, one of the best in the league, is deep.
If Stafford went down, would the Rams be able to trust Wolford or Perkins?
Perhaps a straight-up swap of White for defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson would satisfy both sides.
In his one season in the NFL, White appeared in four games and started three of them, going 88-for-132 (66.7% completion rate) with five touchdowns. He also threw eight interceptions. The 27-year-old signed a restricted free agent tender this offseason for $2.54 million. Next year, he would become an unrestricted free agent.
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Exactly What This Team Is Missing
As for Robinson, 27, he is an absolute behemoth and could step right into the Jets’ lineup to fill a void left by Foley Fatukasi, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent.
Robinson has one year left on his contract, through 2022, for a $9.5 million cap hit, which means giving him an extension could be part of the trade negotiations.
During his six-year career, Robinson hasn’t been much of a pass rush specialist, sacking opposing quarterbacks only seven times. Run support is where he is most valuable.
According to the PFF advanced metrics, the former Crimson Tide stud has a career 78.3 run defense grade, which is the seventh-best overall mark in the NFL among interior defenders.
Standing in at a monstrous 6-foot-4 and weighing over 330 pounds that is the type of brutus beefcake this Jets defensive line needs.
A Deal That Makes Sense
The Athletic’s Connor Hughes also has proposed trading White, the backup quarterback. In a May 2 story, he wrote that the Jets’ “ideal situation” would involve trading White after an impressive summer.
“Then there’s White, a developmental project who showed flashes for a stretch last year,” Hughes wrote. “The Jets have created an environment in which you can see their ideal situation: Wilson becomes the guy, Flacco is veteran insurance and White is given the opportunity to impress during training camp and the preseason so the Jets can flip him for a draft pick.”
Though having numerous draft picks presents opportunities for NFL general managers, trading for an established player could help out the team immediately.
Over the course of the offseason, the Jets have been doing their homework on the defensive tackle market both in free agency and during the 2022 NFL draft.
Most recently they were kicking the tires on veteran Larry Ogunjobi on a multi-day visit to their team facilities.
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