The NFL trade deadline is rapidly approaching. Will the 2-5 New York Jets be buyers or sellers?
Ted Nguyen of The Athletic projected the latter. In a hypothetical trade pitch, he said the Jets could flip wide receiver Adonai Mitchell to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
“The Seahawks bolstered their run game with the Nelson trade, but they still need someone who can get open opposite of [Jaxon] Smith-Njigba. Shaheed has special teams value and wins on the occasional deep ball, but he’s too inconsistent to be a No. 2 receiver. The Jets are not likely to trade Garrett Wilson, and with the emergence of their first-round pick Omar Cooper Jr., Mitchell could be expendable for the right price,” Nguyen wrote.
“Mitchell looked like a much-improved player before injuring his finger. The 24-year-old is a big man who can win deep and get open in the intermediate part of the field. The Seahawks are expecting two fifth-round compensatory picks this year, so they could use their own fifth in a trade. They traded a 2028 fifth-round pick as part of the Nelson trade,” Nguyen continued.
Just Doesn’t Make Sense
The Jets should be looking to selectively sell if the deal makes sense. I’m not sure this Mitchell one makes sense.
He still has a year and a half left on his contract. Mitchell is under team control through the 2027 season. In 2027, Mitchell’s cap hit is $1.8 million. That isn’t cost prohibitive in any way. Why would the Jets be in a rush to trade him? Especially for only a fifth round pick.
I get it right now in this moment in time it seems like the Jets are overflowing with weapons. Omar Cooper Jr just won his second sraight Rookie of the Week award after his performance in Week 7. Garrett Wilson is one of the 10 best receivers in the league. So Mitchell doesn’t seem like that big of a piece.
Today’s luxury can quickly become tomorrow’s neccessity. If injuries hit the Jets after the trade deadline, you don’t want to regret pulling the trigger on a deal because you were too hasty.
A Disappointing Result
Mitchell was the talk of the offseason. He was the summer breakout star for the Jets. He built amazing chemistry with Geno Smith and made plenty of big plays.
However, a troublesome finger injury has eaten up most of his time this year. Mitchell has started three games this season. With those opportunities, he has been targeted 18 times, catching nine receptions for 123 receiving yards.
It would be a shame to trade him before he has a chance to get healthy and to see if he can live up to the offseason hype.
So unless the Jets are blown out of the water with a trade offer they should refuse any deals for Mitchell. Just a few years ago Jets fans were complaining that they don’t have enough weapons, now we have reached a point where they apparently have too many?
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