By Matt Stuart | Published | 1 Comment
The New York Jets envisioned that they would be closing in on a playoff berth around this time of the season. They had visions of winning the AFC East for the first time since 2002. On the twentieth anniversary of their last division title. I mean headlines and stories that would have resulted from that joyous moment would have been easy to write. The New York media would have had a field day with their wordy columns, features, editorials and over sensationalized hot takes. Even if it was just for a year or two, having the Jets back as a contender would have been the perfect way to bookend what has mostly been a restless and aggravating two decades.
Alas it was not to be. The Rodgers highlight reel that was supposed to contain deep bombs to Garrett Wilson for touchdowns, and of course Rodgers trademark play-action pass to the flat, were all supposed to be fifteen minutes or so of an enthralling YouTube video put together by Jets-nation at the end of the year. Joe Namath popping into the Jets locker room after they had clinched their division, passing out cigars and bottles champagne – ok one bottle of champagne, were supposed to be the icing on the cake. The triumphant scaling of the impenetrable wall.
Instead, the highlight real for Rodgers mostly consists of whatever HBO’s Hard Knocks put together. I guess the vision of Rodgers running out onto the field with the American flag, on the anniversary of 9/11, is really the beginning and end of the in-season highlight package. There is really no need to rehash what happened on the Jets fourth offensive play of their first game of the season. You know what happened. Everybody knows what happened.
There of course will be no Joe Namath popping into the Jets locker room with any cigars or champagne. There will be no playoffs for the Jets. They were eliminated weeks ago. There will be no triumphant return of Rodgers this season. Period.
So what now for Rodgers and the Jets?
Rodgers is of course signed through next season. Rodgers will almost certainly take to the field in week one next season, just as he did this past season. Perhaps the stage will be a little different, a little less special, but for Jets fans it’s simply a continuation from a season that was placed into suspended animation months ago. You see, what happened after Rodgers went down this season, is nothing but a bad memory suspended in time. It’s what happens from next season forward that will define the Rodgers/Jets era. Good or bad.
Rodgers says that he is fully healthy. Even if he weren’t, he should be able to shake off any left over rust during the upcoming off-season. Rodgers needs next season just as much as the Jets and their fans need it. Rodgers legacy is tied to the Packers. He is a one time Super Bowl champion, coming back in 2010 – his sixth season in the league – third year as a starter. Rodgers, though, has gone 7-9 in the playoff since that Super Bowl winning season. Overall, Rodgers is 7-10 in his playoff career. A blemish on an otherwise hall of fame career.
Rodgers could of course even or better that career playoff mark in spectacular fashion, should be lead the Jets to a Super Bowl victory next season.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine what Rodgers season will look like next year. Rodgers has not completed a full season of football since 2022, his last season in Green Bay. Rodgers and his team went 8-9 that season and missed the playoffs. Rodgers had career lows in passing yards. passer rating and QBR, for any season in which he played at least fifteen games. Rodgers also threw double digit interceptions that season. The first time since his Super Bowl winning season in 2010.
Of course, Rodgers is also just two seasons removed from his back-to-back MVP winning seasons of 2020 and 2021. Some in the media have suggested that Rodgers may have benefited from what are sometimes referred to as the “CoVid years”. The suggestion is that Rodgers faced an easier path to putting up those historic numbers, because several defensive players opted out of playing, in fear of contracting what was a deadly wide spread virus that was killing thousands of people each day at the height of the outbreak.
I believe that to be hogwash. Even if Rodgers did benefit slightly from a few big time defensive players sitting out in 2020, he was in the same boat as every other quarterback that would have also benefited.
Rodgers is still one of the best quarterbacks in the game. He knows that and the Jets know that. Rodgers still gives the Jets their best chance to win it all next season. The Jets should at the very least be in the playoff mix with Rodgers returning next season.
The Jets should be able to add some pieces this off-season, particularly along their offensive line to help protect Rodgers a little better. Running back Breece Hall could be in line for a breakout season next year, and adding additional running back depth is relatively cheap these days in the NFL. The Jets still haven’t seen the best of what wide receiver Garrett Willson has to offer. A full season of Rodgers tossing him the pigskin could have Wilson in the running for receiving yards leader next season.
Rodgers is not the long term future of the Jets. He is, though, their best option to win it all next season.
Rodgers should have plenty of rest and even a little extra motivation to prove the doubters wrong next season. Getting the Jets to the playoffs would be a big first start.
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