The New York Jets 2024 NFL season is an unmitigated disaster. When they finished the 2023 season 7-10 (for the second consecutive season), they felt that there were some changes that needed to be made, but that there was reason for immense optimism because Aaron Rodgers, whom they acquired via trade from the Green Bay Packers following the 2022 season, was going to be back and healthy.
Rodgers, of course, missed all but four offensive snaps of the 2023 season due to a torn Achilles that he suffered early in Week One. With him back, along with the free agent additions of left tackle Tyron Smith and wide receiver Mike Williams, New York believed their offense was ready to take flight in 2024.
But it has barely gotten off the runway.
The New York Jets Fired both Head Coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas
Make no mistake, there are plenty of things wrong with the Jets. It is not limited to just one player performing poorly.
That being said, Rodgers should probably shoulder a great deal of the blame for how badly the offense has played. After all, Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle were able to win seven games last season with virtually the same supporting cast.
So far, Rodgers has won three.
He is also having the worst season of his career, which probably should have been expected at age 41. After all, he started to show serious signs of decline during his final season in Green Bay.
Warning signs ignored in New York, Rodgers currently has a 63.4% completion percentage, 2,442 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions to go with an 88.9 passer rating.
Throughout the course of the season, though, the Jets have tried to place blame on anyone else but their star quarterback, or so fan thought.
Robert Saleh was fired after starting the season 2-3. New York has gone 1-5 since.
Joe Douglas was fired on Tuesday, a clear sign that owner Woody Johnson never intended to bring him back when his contract expired at the end of this season. It is likely that Johnson wants to choose a new general manager before he presumably takes a role in President-elect Donald Trump‘s organization.
New York Jets Owner Woody Johnson Wanted Aaron Rodgers Benched After Week 4
While there have been many fans and analysts who have accused Johnson and the Jets of catering to their star quarterback too much, it sounds like the owner was ready to make a drastic change on offense long before his coaches and front office.
According to a report by Zach Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Johnson suggested that Saleh bench the future Pro Football Hall of Famer after New York’s Week Four loss to the Denver Broncos:
“During the meeting, Johnson suggested to the coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor because he felt Rodgers’ performance was holding the team back. The coaches and Douglas, stunned at the suggestion, talked him out of it and convinced Johnson to stay the course and that benching Rodgers, with his pedigree, four games into the season would not sit well with the locker room.
“The coaches also felt it would embarrass Rodgers. The idea of benching the future Hall of Famer sounded so absurd that one coach asked whether the owner was serious — multiple sources from that meeting believed he was.”
Before the season began, Rodgers told the media that if he did not play well, he thought that himself and many others would not be back in 2025.
Given the fact that Saleh and Douglas are both gone now, it stands to reason that, when the season ends, Rodgers will join them out the door.
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