Breaking Down a Mac Jones Trade to Jets

The Jets might go after a bridge quarterback, and Mac Jones is likely the best option available. Even though that won’t make Jets fans happy, that move is the correct one.

Rich Cimini of ESPN wrote that Mac Jones is a “name to watch” on the trade market for the Jets in 2026. So, what would it cost the Jets to trade for Mac Jones.

Well, it shouldn’t cost more than a Day 3 pick. Let’s look at it from that perspective.

As of the writing of this piece, the Jets hold six Day 3 picks (excluding compensatory picks). According to Tankathon, they hold picks 106, 195, 203, 212, 216, and 237.

For this exercise, we will use the highest pick possible, which is 106.

Mac Jones Cap Charges for 2026 Jets

Base Salary: $1.4 million
Option Bonus Proration: $282k
Per Game Roster Bonus: $340k (assuming he’s active the rest of the season for the 49ers)
Workout Bonus: $100k
LTBE Incentives: $500k
Cap Charge: $2.622 million

Cap Charges for Overall Selection No. 106

Base Salary: $885k
Signing Bonus Protation: $316,819
Cap Charge: $1,201,819

For the potential of stabilizing the quarterback position and allowing the rookie to sit and learn or keep the seat warm for the 2027 pick, it would cost the Jets an extra $1,420,181 in cap space.

Even if they draft a quarterback in 2026, and he earns the starting job over Jones, having a backup quarterback with the potential of how Jones is playing with the 49ers is well worth the difference. Jones could even turn out to be a longer-term solution than many think, like Alex Smith in Kansas City.

No matter how you slice the pie, trading for Mac Jones would be the right move for the Jets.