Jets Darnold Trade Rumor: Washington Calling?

The NFL hot stove is bubbling over. Sam Darnold is currently under contract to the New York Jets but could he be available with a new coaching staff in control of the No. 2 pick?

ASHBURN, Va. -- There's snow in the air and on the ground but that isn't stopping the quarterback carousel and the NFL's version of the 'hot stove' from boiling over. 

The latest? Sam Darnold is front and center. This has been a slow build this week but now rumors are intensifying that the Washington Football Team is in potential pursuit and may have already reached out to the New York Jets for the former No. 3 overall pick. 

From NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo: 

"Who will be Washington's QB? When Alex Smith decided he needed a few weeks to figure out his future, the Washington Football Team knew it could not wait. While the team is open to a return for Smith, it also made calls on Stafford and Goff before they were traded. Expect them to weigh all QB options, including if Sam Darnold is made available. While plenty of teams have been calling the Jets on Darnold, there's been no indication they would trade him. Yet."

READ MORE: Darnold Up For Grabs?

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN: 

Multiple teams have reached out to the New York Jets and inquired about trading for QB Sam Darnold, per league sources.https://t.co/7h1Fol26QM

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2021

Want more? Of course you do. We've heard that the WFT are potentially interested in Darnold too. How interested? That's the part that is unclear. 

Washington went after Matthew Stafford as we know and reported. They came up short. Stafford did not want to be here unless his preferences weren't met. 

READ MORE: Stafford Goes Hollywood 

Washington seems to be much more willing to part with compensation for a veteran quarterback than a rookie and moving up in the draft, which seems prudent. 

Are the WFT interested in trading for the former USC product with two years of contractual control?

Rebuilding Darnold's confidence is not the only issue, despite what his former teammate Jamal Adams had to say recently. 

READ MORE: Adams on Darnold - "Absolutely - He Can Play" 

"Right now, he’s lost a lot of confidence. You get all this speculation [about] a new quarterback. [People] want Trevor [Lawrence], they want Deshaun [Watson], those things are definitely getting to him. And I know it is because he’s human at the end of the day," Adams said on CBS Sports Radio this week. 

Washington has the No. 19 overall pick in this year's first round. That is in play as they search for a quarterback. And so, maybe, is Sam Darnold.