The NFL’s trade deadline is one day away, and news across the league is starting to come in.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, New York Jets edge rusher Will McDonald has informed the team that he wants to be traded.
“The former first-rounder wants more opportunites and the team is aware,” the reporter added.
Rapoport added, “Teams have called NYJ interested in McDonald, yet the Jets have not engaged in trade talks. And they have no plans to.”
On 139 pass-rushing snaps this season, McDonald has posted 19 pressures and three sacks. The reason he hasn’t found the field consistently, though, has to do with his limited profile. He has yet to prove that he is anything more than a situational pass-rusher.
From 2024-25, McDonald flashed his pass-rushing juice, logging 18.5 sacks over those two seasons. However, for the second year in a row, even his biggest strength has been inconsistent.
In the 2026 season opener, McDonald had five pressures and a sack on 18 pass-rush reps, but since then, he has posted just 14 pressures and two sacks on 121 reps over eight games.
McDonald is currently in the final year of his four-year rookie contract. The Jets picked up his fifth-year option in May, meaning he is under team control through the 2027 season.
The question the Jets have to mull over regarding McDonald is whether it would be better to move him in the offseason. In most cases, that is when a player typically has their highest value. Just because he requested a trade doesn’t mean that New York has to move him before the deadline.
The Jets have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST to trade McDonald.
