Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Craig Carton actually gave pause and said he wouldn’t trade Zach Wilson straight up for Josh Allen.
Not that the Buffalo Bills would ever consider trading their prized franchise quarterback for a former failed No. 2 overall pick that’s only starting because Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles four snaps into his Jets career, but Carton wanted to entertain the idea anyway.
Even after Rodgers’ season-ending injury, Carton is convinced that the Jets can still win the AFC East with Zach Wilson. He’s so convinced that he posed the question of the hypothetical Wilson for Allen trade to David Jacoby, who recently left ESPN after 23 years and joined Carton’s show last month.
Jacoby, Willie Colon, and Plaxico Burress were all in unanimous agreement that it would be a no-brainer from the Jets’ standpoint.
“Are you kidding me?” asked Jacoby.
Would you trade Zach Wilson for Josh Allen?@craigcartonlive @willcolon66 @plaxicoburress @djacoby discuss pic.twitter.com/Hy1IU6hl33
— The Carton Show (@TheCartonShow) September 13, 2023
Jacoby said he would hang up the phone as fast as he could if he was the general manager accruing Allen in those hypothetical deals and send it to the league immediately.
“Not me,” Carton replied. “Josh Allen’s a problem. I’d rather have Zach Wilson.”
I write this as a Jets fan, I would literally drive Wilson to the airport (and I’m rooting for him to succeed) if Allen were on the table. But Carton, who has become more in tune with his hot takes since devoting his full time to hosting The Carton Show on FS1, seems to be standing his ground here.
This is the same Carton, who said that Dak Prescott is the “biggest failure” to ever play for the Dallas Cowboys and is not sold on Shohei Ohtani, even though it’s understood that the two-way player is the best player in Major League Baseball and arguably one of the most impressive athletes in pro sports today.
Not to get off track here, but here’s what we’re dealing with. And Carton’s take might be even crazier than those two above. Yes, Allen turned over the ball four times in Buffalo’s 22-16 loss to the Jets on Monday Night Football. But we can’t let recency bias get in the way of that. Allen plays with his hair on fire and is maybe a little too Jekyll & Hyde for everyone’s taste, but he’s still a top-5 quarterback in this league. Wilson is not.
And whether you want to believe Carton is up to you, but Jacoby certainly isn’t.
“You gotta be kidding me,” said an animated Jacoby. “You don’t believe that. You don’t believe that. You’re saying things that you don’t believe.”
Carton said that not a single living Jet fan would make that trade today. Well Craig, just about every Jets fan besides yourself would. He somehow got Colon to change his mind and agree with him, saying that it seems like Wilson has learned his lesson from his poor play, but Allen hasn’t.
What in the world are we doing here?
