In what comes as virtually no surprise, New York Jets third-year wide receiver Denzel Mims has requested a trade from the team.
Early yesterday evening, a statement was put out by Mims’ agent, Ron Slavin. In it, he started by saying, “It’s just time. Denzel tried in good faith, but it’s clear he does not have a future with the Jets.”
While the Jets were hyping Mims up throughout the offseason, it led many to speculate if it could just be to boost his trade value. Following a disastrous 2021 in which he saw just 279 snaps, Mims’ future with the team just this year was possibly in doubt.
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Mims’ recent comments, role in camp:
A few weeks ago, when Mims met with the media, he made known he feels like he has done everything he possibly can. Also, he vented about not gaining opportunities to work with the Jets’ starting offense. As recently as practice last week, he was working with the third-team offense. In the statement shared by Mims’ agent, he vocalized just this.
Slavin stated, “Denzel vowed to come back better than ever this season and worked extremely hard in the offseason to make that happen. Still, he has been given no opportunities with the starting offense to get in a groove with them.”
The statement concluded with this, “We feel at this point a trade is our only option, since the Jets have told us repeatedly they will not release him. Joe Douglas has always done right by Denzel and we trust he will do everything in his power to find another team where Denzel can be a contributor.”
For a recent second-round pick in 2020, it is disappointing. Mims is still 24 years old with a physically and athletically talented skill set. As a rookie, Mims did show some promise.
With five wide receivers clearly ahead of him in Elijah Moore, Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis, Braxton Berrios, and Jeff Smith, Mims’ role in this offense was once again likely to be minimal.
Now, it will be interesting to see if Joe Douglas is able to find a trade partner to grant Mims his wish. Ideally, the Jets land a fifth-round selection in return for such a recent second-round draft pick.
Ultimately, while Mims’ run with the Jets was short and unsuccessful, the trade request is no shock.