The New York Jets catered everything around Aaron Rodgers. There’s a reason the Jets employed offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, backup quarterback Tim Boyle and receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb last season, and it’s not because they were great at their jobs.
The Jets are still waiting for a payoff. Everyone knows that Rodgers played four snaps last season before tearing his Achilles. That sets up a 2024 season with extreme stakes. The Jets put all their chips in the middle of the table for a quarterback who will be 41 years old in December and is coming off a major injury, and they’re down to one last shot to get something special out of their Rodgers investment.
“If I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing, we’re all probably going to be out of here,” Rodgers told the Jets media in May.
Rodgers immediately backtracked after he said that, saying he liked that pressure and that’s just how the NFL is every year. His comment was a precise setup for the Jets’ season. If it doesn’t go as planned, it seems highly unlikely New York would try the same formula in 2025.
The good news is the Jets are set up well to have a huge season. No team should be happy with 7-10 records in back-to-back years, but given how bad New York’s quarterback play was the past two seasons it was a notable accomplishment. The Jets are loaded. All they need is decent quarterback play. That was the story when they traded for Rodgers a year ago. It’s still the story after Rodgers’ injury ruined last season.
Sports Buzzer 