Adam Gase’s first move as interim general manager was to trade linebacker Darron Lee to the Chiefs just hours after Mike Maccagnan was fired last week. But Gase said that trade had been in the works for a long time.
“I think it was being talked about before I even got here,” said Gase, who was hired as head coach in January.
Gase traded Lee to Kansas City for a sixth-round draft pick in 2020. The Jets had been shopping Lee after signing inside linebacker C.J. Mosley in March. It appears Maccagnan was holding out hope he could get more than a sixth-round pick, but Gase just wanted to get the trade done.