The edge rusher says there are no hard feelings but he wants more snaps to help the team win.
Will McDonald IV asked the Jets to trade him because he wasn't playing enough. New York declined the request before the NFL's trade deadline passed, and now the team says he's in line for a bigger role.
McDonald, the 16th pick in the 2023 NFL draft, has just three sacks this season and had become more of a situational player than a regular contributor in Aaron Glenn's defense. That frustration is what pushed him to ask for a trade in the first place.
Speaking at his locker on Wednesday, McDonald tried to smooth things over. "I just want to clear everything up, you know," he said. "There's no hard feelings with the coaches and staff or anybody here. I just want to play and I just want to help the team win."
With the trade request denied and the deadline behind them, the Jets and McDonald are stuck with each other for now. The question is whether the bigger role the team is promising actually shows up on the field, or whether McDonald stays stuck in the same situational role that got him frustrated enough to ask out.