Jets close to trading Denzel Mims to Lions, source confirms
Jets wide receiver Denzel Mims before a game against the Dolphins on Jan. 8, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Doug Murray
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Denzel Mims’ days as a Jet are nearly over.
The Jets were close to trading Mims to the Detroit Lions Wednesday night, a league source said. The two sides were talking about a deal that would send Mims and a 2025 seventh-round draft choice to Detroit for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick.
Mims had been excused from reporting to camp while they were trying to trade him. The Jets informed Mims that if they couldn’t move him, he would be released, according to multiple sources.
There were high hopes for Mims when the Jets drafted him in the second round in 2020 out of Baylor. Mims was limited to just nine games as a rookie. The Jets made a coaching change after that season — from Adam Gase to Robert Saleh — and Mims hasn’t found a way to make an impact.
Mims missed most of training camp in Saleh’s first year as coach due to a severe case of food poisoning and had to play catch-up. Mims requested a trade last summer because he wanted more of an opportunity.
A year later, the Jets are giving Mims a chance to start fresh. Mims caught 23 passes for 357 yards his rookie season. He totaled 19 receptions for 319 yards since. Mims will end his Jets career with no touchdowns in 30 NFL games.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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