The New York Jets have not been in the NFL Playoffs since 2010. Ironically, that was also the same year that their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, won his only Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. When they first traded for the four-time NFL MVP during the 2023 offseason, the expectation was that Rodgers would help lead the Jets back to the postseason. Many pegged them as early Super Bowl favorites heading into the 2023 NFL season.
Of course, that did not end up happening. Rodgers got hurt after four offensive snaps in New York’s Week One game against the Buffalo Bills. A torn Achilles ended his season and sent the Jets spiraling to another 7-10 season.
Now, Rodgers is back for his age 41 season and New York has gladly built up a team around him that they hope will end their long playoff drought. One NFL analyst, however, thinks that the decision to build around Rodgers was a mistake.
The New York Jets Will Regret Not Moving on From Aaron Rodgers
In an article in which he listed the five moves NFL teams will regret the most in 2024, Bleacher Report‘s Brad Gagnon listed the Jets’ decision to roll with Rodgers this season as one of them. He is of the belief that New York should have cut him after the 2023 season:
Rodgers is 40 now, and he wasn’t a highly effective NFL quarterback in his last healthy season in 2022. He’s of course coming off a major injury to his Achilles, and it’s not a tremendously good sign that he’s missing offseason work with the team to travel.
Is he really in this? And even if he is, what’s left in the tank?
Getting rid of Rodgers this offseason wouldn’t have saved the Jets much money, if any at all. But they had a decent amount of draft capital, and that might have been an opportunity to swallow that financial hit and start fresh.
Soon enough, they might simply regret ever going down this path.
There is certainly a great deal of truth in what Gagnon wrote. The fact of the matter is that no one knows what Rodgers will look like in his age 41 season and coming off of a torn Achilles.
That being said, if there was ever a player who could come back as good as ever after an injury like that, it is Aaron Rodgers.
However, Gagnon also makes a very important point that many people overlook when predicting Rodgers’ 2024 season.
New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Had a Down Year in 2022
Back in 2020, Rodgers was in a precarious place with the Packers. While that season would go on to be his third MVP year, he was coming off of a 2019 season that saw him throw just 26 touchdown passes and have a passer rating of 95.4. His down year prompted Green Bay to select Jordan Love, a move that would, three years later, spell the end of his tenure with the Packers.
When asked about that 2019 season on The Pat McAfee Show back in 2020, Rodgers said: “Down years for me are career years for most quarterbacks.”
While that may be true, his 2022 season, his last in Green Bay, was concerning given his age. He 64.6% completion percentage, his lowest since 2018. His 3,695 passing yards were his fewest in a full season ever. The 26 touchdowns he threw were the second fewest of his career (in a full season) and his 12 interceptions the second most. His 91.1 passer rating was also the lowest of his career.
For most quarterbacks, these numbers would indeed be the best of their careers. However, numbers only tell part of the story. On the field, Rodgers appeared frustrated, could not connect with his wide receivers, and made poor decision after poor decision.
In other words, there was a serious drop off in his play.
The reality of the situation in New York is that the Jets are far more likely to get an Aaron Rodgers that looks more like his 2022 self than 2020-21.
And that probably will not be good enough to get them where they want to go.
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