NY Jets are reportedly trying to tank for Trevor Lawrence

One report suggests that the NY Jets are openly tanking for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The NY Jets sit at 0-5 heading into their Week 6 matchup with the Miami Dolphins and not looking any closer to their first win than they did earlier in the year. But one recent report suggests that their lack of competitiveness might be intentional.

Podcast host Pat McAfee claims to have an inside source in the Jets organization who told him that the Jets are actively trying to lose football games to tank for Trevor Lawrence.

Per McAfee, “ are legitimately, full-court press, attempting to lose every football game.” A text from an anonymous source told McAfee that the Jets are in an “all-out press for Trevor Lawrence at this point.”

McAfee’s clarifies that the information is not coming from a coach or a player, but rather a “higher up” in the Jets organization.

The #Jets are trying legitimately to lose every football game this season

They are ALL IN on Trevor Lawrence #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/sQgGd6c3ck

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 16, 2020

If true, this news tells football fans that the Jets feel that have seen enough from Sam Darnold to confidently say that he is not a franchise quarterback.

Despite the fact that Darnold has only played in four games this season with an untalented roster decimated by injury, general manager Joe Douglas has his eyes set on Lawrence and 2021.

Back in July, Douglas disagreed with the rumor that the Jets were punting on the 2020 season. Now, just five weeks in, he appears to have either changed his mind or had been lying from the get-go, as the Jets have been everything but competitive so far this year.

With this news, suddenly the Le’Veon Bell release and Quinnen Williams trade buzz make a lot more sense.

It seems as though the NY Jets are stripping the roster of talent to try and land Trevor Lawrence.

With Douglas attempting to squeeze out every last morsel of talent from the Jets roster like the last bit of toothpaste left in the tube, the only thing that stands in his way of acquiring the number one overall pick is Darnold himself.

If Darnold can pull a rabbit out of his hat and win games without a competent defense or a dynamic running game, he will still have a chance to fight off Lawrence and the number one overall pick.

Darnold is expected to miss this week’s game against the Miami Dolphins, as Miami is one of the few teams left on the schedule that the Jets have any glimmer of hope to beat. Without Darnold, the Jets have almost no chance.

However, Darnold is expected to return to action after this week and quite possibly, so is second-round rookie Denzel Mims. With Breshad Perriman, Mims, and Jamison Crowder all on the field together for the first time this year, Darnold will have his first real opportunity to finally secure a win.

Because Darnold can’t play defense, he will have to rely on Gregg Williams’ squad to pull themselves together and force some good teams to make mistakes. It will be up to Darnold to capitalize on those mistakes in order to prove his worth.

In 2018, Mike Maccagnan traded up and drafted the 21-year-old face of USC and former Rose Bowl MVP. Scouts drooled over Darnold’s potential to be a franchise quarterback as many believed he would go on to be a top-five quarterback and future MVP of the league.

The only way Darnold can keep his job in New York is for him to play up to his potential despite the plethora of obstacles that Adam Gase and Joe Douglas have set in front of him.