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While Aaron Rodgers hasn’t even been a member of the Jets for a month, his presence in New York already has the fanbase and the organization itself having delusions of grandeur.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday during the Jets’ second day of OTAs, Jets head coach Robert Saleh — who Eric Mangini believes in entering a make-or-break season — reiterated that he not only believes the Rodgers trade puts them in a position to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, but that they’re now one of “six to eight teams” that can win the Super Bowl.
That’s certainly a lot of pressure to pile on a team that hasn’t even had a winning record in a few years, let alone reach the postseason. Conversely, though, given that the Jets acquired Rodgers with the specific intention of making the playoffs and competing for a championship, what else is Saleh supposed to say?
Saleh said he “acknowledged the positivity” that has come with Rodgers’ acquisition and that there are “realistically maybe 6-8 teams that have a legitimate chance” to win the Super Bowl heading into the season. He said that he believes the Jets are in that group before noting that the team has a lot of work to do in the coming months in order to take their best shot at making that happen. [via ProFootballTalk]
Saleh’s assessment of the Jets’ chances of contending actually aligns with what sports books think about the team, as they currently have the seventh shortest odds to win the 2023 Super Bowl. Ahead of the Jets are the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, and Dallas Cowboys.
Rodgers, Saleh, and the rest of the New York Jets will certainly find out what their team is made of as their season kicks off with games against the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs — three teams that are expected to compete for the Super Bowl and one that’s helmed by the greatest head coach of all time.