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New York Jets fans might want to temper their expectations of Aaron Rodgers until they actually see the 40-year-old quarterback deliver on the field.
While the Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers in April 2023, he’s yet to complete an official pass for the team as he tore his Achilles after just four snaps last season.
And in those four snaps, according to an NFL head coach, Rodgers did not look all that good and might, injury or not, be washed.
“You go back and watch those first four plays before he got hurt, he did not look good,” an anonymous told The Athletic for a recent piece that ranked and tiered the starting quarterbacks in the NFL. The nameless head coach put Rodgers in Tier 3.
“He looks old. If they can’t protect him and can’t run the football, it’ll be just what you saw in the late stages in Green Bay. He became ineffective. I’m looking at what he is, not who he is.”
While Rodgers won consecutive MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, the 2022 season — his final as a member of the Green Bay Packers — saw Rodgers throw more interceptions (12) than he had during any other season of his career other than his rookie year. The Packers also failed to make the playoffs despite playing a win-and-in game at home against the Detroit Lions in the final week of the season.
Despite his age and recovery from an Achilles injury, there’s massive pressure on Rodgers to deliver this season, both self-inflicted and out of his control. Given how many interviews he’s given and the controversial statements he’s made in recent years, Rodgers has turned himself into one of the most divisive figures in sports.
While that’s fine when you’re a Hall of Fame QB like Aaron Rodgers (at least as far as the team’s fanbase is concerned), the distractions he causes might inspire much more fervor should the Jets underperform this season.
On a macro level, the New York Jets haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2010, which gives the team the embarrassing distinction of having the longest active playoff drought in American professional sports.
Rodgers and the rest of Gang Green will open their 2024 season with a road Monday Night Football matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL champions.