A clear message was sent by New York Jets pass rusher Will McDonald.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz revealed on social media that McDonald was a highly “coveted trade target with several teams calling on him before the trade deadline, but the Jets would not budge. Good decision.”
It sure seems that way.
McDonald helped the Jets take down the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. He finished the game with four sacks, four tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits.
A Historic Day at the Office for McDonald
McDonald is the third player in Jets franchise history to finish a game with four sacks.
“Only other times it’s happened for the Jets since sacks were official in 1982: John Abraham in 2001 Week 8 vs Saints [and] Mark Gastineau twice (1984 Week 1, 1983 Week 10),” ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed on social media.
The former Iowa State product entered Week 10 with only three sacks on the season. Now the dominant pass rusher has seven sacks on the year with eight games to play.
In 41 career games with 24 starts, McDonald has collected 20.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, and 40 quarterback hits.
“Yeah, I mean, he is very relentless. He actually said that to the players in the [locker room] because he had said something to me during the week,” Coach Glenn said. “I have a lot of belief in that player. For him to come out and do exactly what he said he was going to do during the week: be relentless and go make plays. He went out there and he did that. To get four sacks in a game is a huge deal. Actually, [Myles] Garrett had five last week, for him to get four this week is a true testament of him buying in.”
Pro Football Focus posted on social media that McDonald finished with “eight pressures, four sacks, and a 21.6% pressure percentage.”
The Jets Have a Very Easy Decision Coming Up
McDonald is under contract for a minimum of the next year and a half. However, during the 2026 offseason, the Jets must decide on McDonald’s fifth-year team option on his contract.
If they accept it, he will be under team control through 2027. If they decline it, McDonald will be a free agent in 2027.
According to Over The Cap, McDonald’s projected fifth-year option is worth $14.93 million. That figure would be fully guaranteed. That annual figure would rank No. 25 among the highest-paid pass rushers in the NFL, per OTC.
That should be the easiest decision this Jets front office makes in history. You can never have enough pass rushers. McDonald is one of the best at his craft, and he is only 26 years of age.
However, the more difficult decision is what to do after that?
McDonald is a liability in the run game. It’s fair to wonder if that is something you just have to accept with his game. McDonald is in his third season in the pros. Perhaps a tiger can change its stripes, but that feels unlikely.
Are the Jets willing to pay him at the top of the market at his position if he struggles against the run? That would mean he can’t play the full number of snaps because opposing teams would take advantage and run at him.
A difficult decision for the Jets to consider. The good news is the green and white won’t have to think about that for a while. For now, they can enjoy the fruits of their labor, having McDonald on the team right now for dirt cheap to go attack the opposing quarterback.
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