Will McDonald's Fifth-Year Option Doesn't Give Him Long-Term Job Security

The New York Jets may still get rid of Will McDonald despite picking up his team option | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New York Jets EDGE Will McDonald got some good news on Wednesday, with the franchise picking up his fifth-year team option for the 2027 season worth $13.752 million. Well, good news on the surface, at least.

While McDonald has at least eight sacks in each of the past two seasons, he's not guaranteed to stick around as No. 2 overall 2026 NFL draft pick David Bailey's counterpart on the opposite edge. Consider that Jermaine Johnson was traded to the Tennessee Titans for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat after New York picked up Johnson's option the previous April.

Could McDonald be on a similar path? The 2023 first-round pick has developed slowly, seeing his sack total fall to 8.0 in 2025 before the season ended early due to a knee injury in Week 16.

His trade value is high now, but don't be shocked to see it rise even higher with a more talented supporting cast this fall. That could set the stage for a potential trade deadline deal, since it's a long shot that the Jets would be anything more than a bottom-10 team this coming season.

After all, Darren Mougey punted on finding anything more than a bridge option when he signed a soon-to-be 36-year-old Geno Smith coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro with the Las Vegas Raiders, since, well, his early career in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Even with the array of skill-position weapons Smith has, whether incumbents Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell at receiver and Breece Hall at running back, or draft newcomers Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq, this Jets team is built for the future.

Will McDonald doesn't fit the Jets' extended rebuild

Even next year probably won't be a win-now situation for Gang Green. Whether they push for a 2027 NFL draft prospect like Arch Manning or Dante Moore, or try to develop within with fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik, who the team gave up assets to trade up for, New York still may be a cellar dweller in the AFC East.

McDonald is a luxury piece right now, and one that won't make sense in an extended rebuild. With his hitting free agency following the 2027 season, McDonald is best off on a team with a plan to extend him.

It's not clear if New York is that team right now, or if they will ever be, even in spite of the news that he's on track to be on the team in 2026 and 2027.