The NFL trade deadline is later today (4 p.m. EST), and the New York Jets have made more headlines for the move they didn’t make than the one they did.
New York dealt safety Andre Cisco to the Detroit Lions for a 2028 sixth-round pick, but the biggest news on Monday was a report from the New York Post stating that the Jets declined offers for edge rusher Will McDonald that included a second-round pick.
What could the Jets possibly be thinking? Let’s unpack the situation as the trade deadline draws near.
Why the Jets should absolutely accept a second-rounder for McDonald
If the Jets truly did receive a second-round offer for McDonald (there are other possible explanations for the report, which we will get into), they would be out of their minds not to accept. Simply based on the way they use him, that feels like an objective statement.
New York doesn’t even view McDonald as a key part of their defense. This year, he has started three of his nine games and played just 46% of their defensive snaps. His snap count has declined from 66% last season, showing that his standing in the organization is dropping.
Per the New York Post report, McDonald asked for an increased role in the Jets’ defense, and the staff didn’t grant that wish; in New York’s recent loss to Kansas City, McDonald’s snap count dipped to 36%, his third-lowest mark of the year, despite starter Joseph Ossai missing another game.
Beyond his lackluster production (three sacks and 19 total pressures), McDonald’s minimal and declining role in the defense shows that the organization doesn’t even view him highly. So, why on earth would they not accept premium draft capital for him?
Well, there are a few other explanations.
The Jets could be trying to drive his price up
The report from the New York Post is legitimate, but the source that shared the information could have an agenda.
Perhaps the Jets leaked the rumor to try and entice teams into making better offers for McDonald. It is also possible that someone in McDonald’s camp put the second-round billing out there to drive interest in him, helping him get out of New York. This is all speculation, none of us can know what is happening behind the scenes, but it seems so outrageous for the Jets not to accept a second-round offer that other possibilities must be entertained.
If the report is true, though, it’s worth unpacking what New York might have been thinking to make such a shocking decision.
Perhaps New York wants to let him drive his value up
McDonald’s stock is certainly at a low point. It peaked when he posted 10.5 sacks and 61 total pressures in 2024, his second NFL season.
The following year, McDonald dropped to eight sacks and 42 total pressures, which made 2026 feel like something of a make-or-break year for the 27-year-old (who was already 24 when he made his NFL debut). Instead of reinvigorating optimism in his ceiling, McDonald has taken another step back, posting just three sacks and 19 pressures in nine games as his role increasingly shrinks.
This would be an unfavorable time to trade McDonald. Perhaps they want to give him eight games to improve his stock before trading him in the offseason.
If that is the case, and it is also true that the Jets received second-round offers for McDonald despite his declining stock, then it’s conceivable to believe that New York could fetch a first-rounder for McDonald in the offseason if his play improves significantly in the second half of 2026. This is contingent on the report of the Jets receiving second-round offers being true, though.
Even if the second-round report is off, the point still stands that New York could prefer to let McDonald try to improve his stock instead of trading him at the lowest point of his value. Maybe the Jets are actually getting fourth-round offers, and the second-round reports are what the Jets want for him (again, this is entirely speculative), so they’re holding on to him in hopes that he can play his way to that value.
The risk of not trading McDonald now is that his stock could still drop further. As his snap count declines, he may become even less productive if Aaron Glenn does not give him a chance to shine, which is plausible as Glenn continues to coach in win-now mode to try to save his job. Even worse, McDonald could get injured.
What should the Jets do?
All things considered, the Jets should probably accept whatever offers for McDonald they are currently getting. It’s a no-brainer if they’re getting second-round offers, but even if the price isn’t quite what they’re hoping for, it probably makes sense to take what they can get and move forward.
McDonald is clearly not a fit in Aaron Glenn’s defense. If the Jets let him play out the string, it is unlikely that he will do much to improve his stock beyond where it currently stands; his snap count is dropping, and Glenn doesn’t seem to be entering evaluation mode anytime soon with his job on the line. Given the risk of injury, it is arguably likelier that his stock goes down than it goes up.
Looking to the future, it’s possible that McDonald could bring more value to the Jets under a new coaching staff. Perhaps the front office doesn’t want to give up on him just yet for that reason.
However, through four NFL seasons, McDonald has shown a degree of one-dimensionality that makes him difficult to fit into any scheme. Lacking strength and edge-setting capability, McDonald’s best fit is as a pure third-down specialist, similar to the role Bryce Huff played for the Jets in 2022. But even as a pass rusher, McDonald has been inconsistent from game to game throughout his career, although his peaks are extremely high.
It is also important to note that McDonald will be 28 next year, which is far on the older side for a fifth-year player. As a prospect who came into the NFL at 24 years old, he was expected to be more of an instant-impact player, not someone with a long-term growth curve.
Given his age, it may be a bit too optimistic to expect that McDonald has any growing left to be done. Who he is today might just be the best he’ll ever be, so if the team is uncertain about his long-term fit in their plans, it would make sense to deal him if there is any sort of demand, rather than risk him getting injured or seeing his production decline further.
