Jets Expected To Shop LB Darron Lee In Trade Talks

Rich Cimini of ESPN gets the sense that the Jets will shop former first-round LB Darron Lee in trade talks during the draft.

Cimini mentions that Lee became expendable after the Jets signed ILB C.J. Mosley to a record contract a few weeks ago.

If there are no teams interested in trading for Lee, Cimini says New York could hold on to him for a while longer and hope a deal surfaces before the start of the season.

The Jets will need to decide whether to pick up Lee’s fifth-year option in the coming weeks, but Cimini writes that this decision “seems academic.”

Lee had previously come up as a possible trade candidate, so this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. 

Lee, 24, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2016. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $10.221 million and set to make a base salary of $1.83 million in 2019. 

The Jets will have to decide whether to pick up Lee’s fifth-year option this offseason, but it sounds like this is unlikely.

In 2018, Lee appeared 12 games for the Jets and recorded 74 tackles, no sacks, three interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown and five pass defenses.