You know you're deep in the depths of the NFL offseason when you start to see nonsensical trade proposals like the one we're about to discuss. Just as a quick disclaimer — no, the NY Jets should not and will not trade Mike Williams.
The Jets signed Williams to a one-year contract worth up to $10 million this offseason with the hopes that he could provide Aaron Rodgers with another much-needed weapon. The expectation is that Williams, who is recovering from a torn ACL, will be ready to go for the start of the season.
He isn't expected to step foot onto the practice field until sometime during training camp, but if you ask Bleacher Report's Joe Tansey, he may never actually put on a Jets uniform.
Tansey recently proposed three "shocking trade ideas" for the Jets this offseason, and one of those ideas involved the Jets sending Williams to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick.
Why would the Jets do this exactly? That part remains unclear.
The NY Jets would not consider trading Mike Williams
It's easy to see why the Cowboys would be interested. Williams has a pair of 1,000-yard seasons under his belt and, when healthy, is still one of the better wide receivers in the NFL. Dallas could use another wide receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.
The issue is the Jets have no reason to consider a trade. The Jets are looking to compete for a Super Bowl in 2024, which makes it nonsensical to propose trading away a key piece of their offense for future draft capital "to build for the post-Rodgers era" as Tansey suggests.
Williams hasn't even had the opportunity to step foot onto a Jets practice field yet. Why on earth would they trade a player who is expected to be an integral part of the team's receiving corps for a future draft pick?
Tansey insists that Williams could become expendable if rookie Malachi Corley or "other young receivers" develop, but there are multiple problems with that assertion.
For starters, Corley and Williams don't even play the same position. While Williams is expected to be the Jets' starting X receiver, Corley projects as more of a slot target in the NFL. Corley is not a replacement for Williams, nor is someone like Xavier Gipson.
If the Jets were to trade Williams, they'd realistically be relying on players like Allen Lazard, who was statistically the worst wide receiver in football last season, or Jason Brownlee to take his place in the starting lineup. That's not exactly a wise strategy for a contending team.
Tansey's assertion that "the Mike Williams era in New York may not last long" is entirely nonsensical and void of any factual basis. In short, it doesn't make any sense.
The Jets aren't going to trade Mike Williams. Chalk this proposal up as a needless offseason talking point.
