Joe Douglas is ‘hitting the reset button’ with Sam Darnold trade

The New York Jets lost a quarterback and franchise staple but have gained a world of opportunity.

That’s how general manager Joe Douglas is viewing the trade of Sam Darnold, who was dealt to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for three picks on Monday afternoon. With Monday’s yield from Charlotte, the Jets now have 21 choices to make over the next two editions of the NFL draft, including 10 among the first two days.

“We felt like this was the best decision for the entire organization moving forward, and hitting the reset button,” Douglas said in his first public comments since the trade. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, we felt really good with the value and compensation we were able to get from Carolina. As we’re sitting here now, we have a lot of opportunity in front of us. … With that opportunity, we know we have to make the most of it and hit on these picks.”

Darnold’s tenure as the Jets’ franchise quarterback ends almost three years after he was chosen third overall in the 2018 draft, the final first-round pick chosen by Douglas’ predecessor Mike Maccagnan. The previous GM was also responsible for the hiring of head coach Adam Gase, who has been widely criticized for his oversight during Darnold’s vital second and third professional seasons. Gase has since been dismissed for newly minted boss Robert Saleh.

With the trade of Darnold, Douglas will have his own coach and quarterback to lead the way, strongly hinting that the Jets would use the first of the aforementioned 21 picks, the second overall choice on April 29, on a thrower. Many have pondered that the Jets will use that choice on either Zach Wilson or Justin Fields, but Douglas insisted that the Jets are still working through “our process” and that there is “meat left on our bone when it comes to our draft process.”