New Garrett Wilson Rumors Reveal 49ers, Chiefs Interest in Jets Star Before NFL Trade Deadline

The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs made a run at New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson prior to the NFL trade deadline, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini.

Cimini reported the Jets consider Wilson to be a "foundational piece," so they had no desire to move him.

Injuries prompted San Francisco and Kansas City to look outside the organization to bolster the receiver room. The Niners traded for Keenan Allen, with Josh Downs going to the Chiefs.

The Jets are 2-7 so far. They're building for the future, and general manager Darren Mougey already traded away homegrown stars Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams ahead of the 2025 deadline to accelerate the rebuild. Particularly in the case of Gardner, that looks like a shrewd move.

But New York never gave any indication it was willing to deal Wilson, and the 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year made it clear he wouldn't press the issue himself.

"Yeah, I want to be here, man," he told reporters in October. "I want to win games and that's the one thing we've been missing on here. I love it here. Do I love it more than I love winning? Nah, to be completely honest, but I'm hopeful."

Wilson would've been better than what the 49ers and Chiefs ultimately got. He has 43 receptions for 527 yards and three touchdowns, putting him on pace to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth time in five years.

The four-year, $130 million extension Wilson signed with New York hasn't even gone into effect, either, so he offers a lot of team control.

The thing with a rebuild is that you do need to start building something at some point. Teams in the NFL can also make a quick turnaround with a strong offseason.

The Jets have the draft capital and payroll flexibility to be competitive in 2027. Unless they received a totally overwhelming offer, trading Wilson didn't make a lot of sense.