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The Aaron Rodgers experiment in New York hasn’t got to plan so far, to say the least.
After a relentless offseason of hype surrounding the Jets, Rodgers tore his Achilles just four snaps into the season and never even completed a single pass for the team this season.
As a result, the Jets suffered through another year of mediocrity and missed the playoffs for an NFL-leading 13th straight year, extending the longest postseason drought in American professional sports.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rodgers’ arrival also brought some behind-the-scenes chaos, too, as one Jets coach told The Athletic that things have been “a f—— mess” and that “something has to chnage.”
In an oft-repeated conflict at Florham Park, a star-studded defense that kept New York in games grew frustrated that the offense couldn’t find a way to put up more points. And offensive players felt like Rodgers’ hand-picked offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, failed to adjust after losing his quarterback and didn’t put them in positions to succeed. The Jets lost five games by 20 or more points and extended the longest playoff drought in the four major North American professional sports to 13 years.
“It’s just such a f—— mess,” one Jets coach said. “Something has to change.”
Despite all of the noise that Rodgers brought to New York without any of the success he promised, the 40-year-old part-time quarterback and full-time conspiracy theorist will be returning to the Jets next season.
Even with the services of a healthy Rodgers, it’s difficult to imagine how the Jets can compete in the AFC next year given how loaded the division has become thanks to QBs such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, CJ Stroud, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert (now armed with Jim Harbaugh as his coach), and so on.