Garrett Wilson said Wednesday he does not plan to ask the Jets to move him, pushing back on the trade chatter that has followed him as the NFL’s Nov. 10 deadline approaches. But the receiver did not try to hide where his priorities sit. “I wanna be here, man,” he said after practice. “I want to win games.”
That is why the rumors have kept following him. The Jets were 2-5 when Wilson spoke, and they are still trying to steady a season that has given him little to feel good about. He has been frustrated by how often he is not part of the offense, and that showed again Sunday when he was targeted only three times in a 28-25 loss to the Dolphins, tied for fourth on the team. He was animated on the sideline during the broadcast, upset about not getting the ball.
Wilson did not soften that part of it. “No doubt,” he said when asked whether the frustration was real. “I’d be lying if I said it’s not [frustrating].” He added, “But at the end of the day, it comes down to winning and losing.” That is where the contradiction sits. He said, “I love it here,” but also, “Do I love it more than I love winning? Naw, to be completely honest.”
For Wilson, this has become a familiar kind of season. He has said he has dug deep and stayed optimistic for years, and his latest comments fit that pattern: belief in the Jets, paired with a blunt acknowledgement that losing wears on him. “Really, I just want to help the team,” he said. “Sometimes it’s frustrating, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t.”
What happens next is simple enough to define and hard enough to answer. By Nov. 10, the Jets have to decide whether Wilson is part of their long-term fix or just another name that other teams will keep asking about. Wilson has made his preference clear. The remaining question is whether the Jets will act like a team building around him, or like one still open to listening.
