First came the declaration. Then came the all-important caveat.
An addendum that resonated louder than anything else.
With the NFL’s Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching and Garrett Wilson’s name swirling in rumors as another Jets season spirals into an abyss, the star receiver said he did not plan to ask the team to move him. But there is something he desires that supersedes his contentment with the Jets.
“I wanna be here, man,” Wilson said after practice Wednesday. “I want to win games. That’s the one thing we’ve been missing on here. I love it here. Do I love it more than I love winning? Naw, to be completely honest.”
There has been very little winning in Wilson’s Jets tenure. At 2-5, the chances of meaningful football this season are extremely slim. Wilson’s career has been defined by a constant belief that the future will be better than the present.
It’s a sentiment that has been tested over and over again.
“But I’m hopeful,” Wilson said. “I’ve never been the best, like, optimistic guy, but I’ve found a way, I’ve dug deep and I’ve been optimistic for three, four, five years now and that’s why these [losses] each weekend hurt a little more.”
Beyond the losing, Wilson’s at times lack of involvement in the offense has been a seasonlong storyline and something he has admitted to being frustrated about. Geno Smith often goes long stretches without targeting Wilson, which should not happen for a receiver of his stature.
In the Jets’ 28-25 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday, Wilson was targeted only three times — tied for fourth most on the team. Wilson was shown on the broadcast animated on the sideline about not getting the ball.
That he wants to help the team but feels like he’s not given a proper chance to, while the losses keep piling up, only adds to the frustration.
“No doubt,” Wilson said. “I’d be lying if I said it’s not [frustrating]. But at the end of the day, it comes down to winning and losing. Just throughout my experience, when things go right, I tend to have a part in that. When it doesn’t, it seems avoidable. That’s my main frustration, that maybe shows on the TV or something like that.
“But I don’t want it to ever be misconstrued. It all comes from a place in my heart of wanting to win. I am biased, but it also comes from experience where I played my part in that. I’ll say that. It’s frustrating for sure, because I want to have an impact and I want to help the team. Really, I just want to help the team.”
It doesn’t help that Wilson sees other top receivers across the league consistently peppered with targets.
“Sometimes it’s frustrating, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t,” Wilson said. “But also account for the fact that every situation is different. I’ll just leave it at that. Every situation is different.”
Smith does not necessarily believe it’s something that needs to change.
“I read the defense, I make the decisions based on what I see,” Smith said Wednesday. “If you’ve ever played quarterback, you know there’s a lot that goes into it. As I’m out there playing, I’m always trying to make the best decision for the team while focusing on getting the ball into the hands of our playmakers. I thought [Omar Cooper Jr.] had a great game [on Sunday], I thought Mason [Taylor] had a great game and we completed 70 percent of our passes. There’s only one football on the field.
“Garrett’s a guy that, I’ve always said this, I’m looking to get him the football as much as I can, but gotta be mindful of what the defense is doing as well.”
The timing of Wilson’s comments is fitting, given that it’s just under a year since the Jets traded away Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner last year.
Despite the rumors, Wilson does not feel it’s necessary to express that he wants to stay with the Jets to head coach Aaron Glenn or general manager Darren Mougey.
“I feel like it’s understood,” Wilson said. “We’ve had talks throughout their two years here, they know how I operate as well. I would kind of just say it’s out there, that’s the world, but it’s not like we’re moving around in here like we’re accounting for it. I don’t let that bleed into when I get in this facility. I don’t. It’s about getting better at football each day, trying to help this team win.
“It’s just out of my control. I don’t like to waste too much thought power on it. … Our job as football players is, every time we take that football field, leave no doubt. Right now, we’re leaving doubt. And that’s where narratives come in and people can talk. That’s the world.”
For someone who cares about winning more than anything else, Wilson’s world has been filled with too much losing.
