NY Jets ‘are among the team’s pursuing’ left tackle Trent Williams

The NY Jets are among the team’s “pursuing” left tackle Trent Williams. Here are all the details and what it could cost the team in a trade.

It’s on like Donkey Kong.

Per Connor Hughes of The Athletic, “according to multiple league sources, the NY Jets are among the teams pursuing Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams.”

This comes just a day after Dianna Russini of ESPN revealed on social media that the Redskins have told Williams’ agent that he can explore trade possibilities with other NFL teams.

Ahead of the 2019 NFL trade deadline, the Redskins were reportedly asking for a first-round pick in exchange for the veteran left tackle. Teams balked at that price and Trent remained with Washington last season.

It’s not clear what they’ll be looking for this time around but Ralph Vacchiano of SNY said one source told him “they’ll have to lower their expectations” and could pull the trigger on a deal for “maybe a second-round pick.”

The Jets do have a second-round pick this year but it’s an extremely valuable commodity (48th overall). Another possibility is packaging other picks, for instance, the team owns a pair of third-round picks in 2020 and a pair of fifth rounders in 2021, courtesy of the NY Giants, Leonard Williams trade.

On top of draft compensation, whatever team trades for Trent Williams will likely have to hand him a brand new long-term contract extension. He’s due to make roughly $12.5 million in the last year of his deal in 2020.

Williams and his representation will be seeking a deal in excess of $14 to $15 million per year on a long-term basis, per Vacchiano.

Giving up a valuable draft pick and a contract extension would be costly, but the Jets are in desperation mode.

The team could have as many as four new starters on the offensive line in 2020 due to free agency and cap casualties. That includes veteran left tackle Kelvin Beachum who is scheduled to be a free agent in a few weeks.

By acquiring Williams, in theory, you could plug him in to protect the blindside. Then during the 2020 NFL Draft, you can draft a left tackle of the future that can temporarily play on the right side to learn the position. The Jets are expected to draft an offensive tackle with the 11th overall pick if one of the four premium players are still on the board.

For the Jets, it’s all pending if the price is right. Although the fact that general manager Joe Douglas is more than doing his due diligence on one of the top offensive tackles available in the game is a very positive sign.