Flushing out (il)logic behind Zach Wilson to Rams rumors. Does scenario hold water?

You can always tell that football news is at a lull when you find yourself reading reported Rams rumors that on the surface are speculative trade scenarios. But the LA Rams have been linked multiple times to New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, and perhaps it's time to address the elephant in the room.

Perhaps the best place to start with this scenario is to identify the why's. That is, why this player? Why the LA Rams? Why now? Once we have examined the origination of this particular trade scenario, we will have enough information to make the determination over whether any trade scenario makes sense, and why.

For starters, the New York Jets selected quarterback Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Wilson is a 6-foot-2, 214-pound quarterback who hails out of Brigham Young University. He shares the same alma mater as Rams WR Puka Nacua, but the two never crossed paths as Nacua arrived to BYU in the year after Wilson was drafted. Wilson has played three seasons for the New York Jets resulting in a record of 12-21 over that period of time.

While his collegiate path did not cross that of Puka Nacua, he did cross paths with LA Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur for two seasons while he was the Jets OC. By some accounts, it wa LaFleur's inability to fully develop Zach Wilson for two seasons that led to his dismissal from the Jets, and ultimately to be hired by the Rams as their offensive coordinator in 2023.

Now the Jets face an intriguing conundrum. Zach Wilson is entering his fourth and final season of his rookie contract (pending a fifth year option), and has yet to demonstrate enough command of the Jets offense to warrant continued interest in retaining him on their roster. Complicating matters even further, the Jets expect veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers to return for the 2024 NFL season, which makes Wilson and his hefty $11 million price tag for the 2024 NFL season an overpay.

Because the Rams made NFL headlines in trading for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Rams are a default trading partner for any team seeking to shed an expensive but underwhelming quarterback. But does this have sufficient value to both teams to pass the sniff test? Let's examine this trade scenario from both teams' perspectives: