On Thursday, New York Jets wide receiver Denzel Mims requested a trade through his agent, Ron Slavin(Via NFL Network). According to a statement from Slavin, Mims wants an opportunity to work with the starters and be a contributor to a team.

“It’s just time,” said Slavin in the statement. “Denzel has tried in good faith, but it is clear he does not have a future with the Jets. Denzel vowed to come back better than ever this season, and he worked extremely hard in the offseason to make that happen. Still, he has been given no opportunities with the starting offense to get into a groove with them.

“We feel at this point a trade is our only option, since the Jets have repeatedly told us they will not release him. Joe Douglas(Jets GM) has always done right by Denzel, and we trust that he will do everything in his power to find another team where Denzel can be a contributor.”

On Friday, Jets coach Robert Saleh discussed the trade request. The second-year coach would like to keep Mims in New York.

It’s not over. I’m not going to say it’s over with,” Saleh said. “Is it (disappointing)? Sure. You go into this, and you fight for all your guys, and you try to get them where you want them to be. You just want to see these guys have success. All the individual players, you want them to have successful careers and achieve all their personal goals. With that said, I do think Denzel has done a great job. I’m standing by it. He’s had really good OTAs. He’s done a really good job in training camp, and it’s just a matter him finding his niche and finding his role. I know he’s frustrated; we’ve talked about before that he’s not where he wants to be. That doesn’t mean that he can’t get there. He’s got to continue to grind.”

While Saleh wants the second-round pick in the 2020 draft to stick around in New York, he believes the Jets have to do what’s best for the Jets.

“I don’t think it’s a locker room distraction,” he said. “That’s what I’m getting at. It’s the business part of it. He’s one of our 53-best. This is the business part of it in that in my heart, and I think you look at Denzel, it’s not, ‘I don’t want to be a part of New York.’ It’s not, ‘I don’t like my locker room. I don’t like my teammates. I don’t like my coaches.’ It’s, ‘I want more,’ which is understandable, but at the same time, not to speak for Joe (Douglas), all of us, for a decision-making standpoint, we have to do what’s best for our organization, and he is one of our better players, and we’ve got to find a way to make this work.”

Mims has 31 catches for 490 yards in two seasons with the Jets and no touchdowns. Last season, in 11 games, Mims caught eight passes for 133 yards. Mims had some bad luck in 2021, including a bout with COVID and food poisoning. 

Regarding being a starter, which Mims thinks he is, he’s running behind Corey Davis, Garrett Braxton Berrios, and Elijah Moore. Barring injury, it appears that will continue to happen. 

Maybe a change of scenery would benefit Mims, and while the team reportedly is not going to give him away, there could be teams out there that may have interest in a young(24), fast(4.38, 40), wideout with decent size(6-3, 207 pounds). However, maybe the Jets and Mims can work things out.