ORLANDO, Fla. — Could Zach be back?

Jets owner Woody Johnson said Monday that the team won’t release quarterback Zach Wilson if it can’t find a trade partner for him.

“If we don’t trade him, we’re going to keep him,” Johnson said at the NFL owners meetings.

The Jets have been trying to find someone interested in taking the former No. 2 overall pick off their hands, but nothing has materialized.

Johnson may have just been posturing on Monday to try to avoid destroying any trade value Wilson may have, but it was surprising to hear Johnson say the Jets would consider holding onto Wilson.

Johnson acknowledged that it would be better for Wilson to get a fresh start with another team.

“From his standpoint, it’s probably better if he changes faces and gets to a new place and he can wipe the slate clean,” Johnson said. “I think that would probably be better for him.”

While Johnson said that a new team would be in Wilson’s best interest, he made it clear he is not going to just give him away.

“Zach is a valuable asset,” Johnson said. “I said it would be better for him. No, we’re not just going to release him.”

Jets general manager Joe Douglas said he has been talking to Wilson’s agent, Brian Ayrault, who has had permission to find a trade partner since just after the season ended.

Douglas said he also has talked to some teams, but nothing is imminent.

“There have been a lot of good conversations with his agent,” Douglas said Monday. “There have been some discussions with teams regarding a trade. I’ve got no news to report. There’s nothing close to being done on that front.”

Johnson’s tone about Wilson changed from Super Bowl week last month when Johnson said, “We need a backup quarterback. We didn’t have one last year.”

Wilson went 12-21 as a Jets starter and had struggles on and off the field during his first three seasons.

Johnson said he wishes Wilson got to sit behind Aaron Rodgers last season, as the team planned.

Instead, Wilson took over four plays into the season when Rodgers got hurt.

“I feel badly about Zach in some ways,” Johnson said. “Last year would have been great, it would have been the first time he could just sit back and watch a master at work. He’s never had that. He’s been in the fire from Day 1. I think that’s what he needs. He needs to be in a place where he can observe for a while. He’s got the skill. He can do everything. There’s a reason we drafted him at No. 2 overall. I have confidence that he’ll get there at some point.”

There was a report from Pro Football Talk on Monday that the Jets have received offers for Wilson but Johnson has been the one stopping the trade. Johnson said that is not true.

“I don’t nix them,” Johnson said. “If it was nixed, it would be Joe that nixed it.”

The Jets and Wilson would both benefit from a trade getting done sooner rather than later, but Douglas said it has to be a move that works for the Jets. They don’t just want to unload him.

“I think the trick is to have it be beneficial for the team and the player,” Douglas said. “And I think that’s what everybody’s working toward, but ultimately we’re going to have to do what’s right for the team.”

Douglas spoke to reporters before Johnson said the team would not release Wilson.

Douglas was asked if he could envision Wilson remaining with the Jets into 2024.

“We’re so early in this offseason process,” Douglas said. “There’s a lot of meat left on the bone when it comes to even getting to training camp or even OTAs. I haven’t even given that much thought.”