The Jets were finally able to find a trade partner for quarterback Zach Wilson, ending a tumultuous four-year run in New York. On Monday, the team agreed to send Wilson and the 256th pick in this week’s draft to the Denver Broncos in exchange for the No. 203 pick.
The Jets and Broncos also agreed to split the compensation owed to Wilson this season. Each team will pay $2.75 million to Wilson this season.
So the #Jets clear $2.75M in cap space, meaning Wilson will count $8.43M on this year's cap in dead money. https://t.co/53hzuDISxP
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 22, 2024
The deal means the Jets save $2.75 million in cap space but Wilson leaves about $8.5 million in dead money. Per Over the Cap, the Jets have about $2.8 million in cap space heading into the draft.
Getting something for Wilson and being able to shed some cap space is a win for the Jets. They move up about 50 spots, from 256 to 203, and save almost $3 million. Had they cut Wilson outright, they would have had no cap savings at all.