Back in April when the news broke that the New York Jets were trading for future hall of fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, every Jets fan went to the nearest sports book and put their most recent paycheck on the team to win it all. Rodgers was instantly looked at as the savior of a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2010 and has only been to the super bowl once when they won all the way back in 1969.
With defensive rookie of the year Sauce Gardner leading a defensive unit that was fourth in points allowed last season and offensive rookie of the year Garrett Wilson leading the offense, the team was in dire need of a new quarterback. Formal top pick Zach Wilson hasn’t been the answer since he stepped onto the field his rookie year and a lot of Jet fans will agree that they don’t wanna see him under center anymore.
Aaron Rodgers was what the team needed.
A 10 time pro bowler, 4 time all pro and 4 time league MVP. The awards go on and on and so did the reasons as to why he was the man for the Jets. Rodgers even reworked his contract for this season so the team could go out and get more weapons. Rodgers was immediately dedicated to bringing the Lombardi back to the Big Apple.
You could just tell that the vibes we’re all good, you didn’t even have to be there to tell, you just knew. Watching HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ you could see that everyone on the team and the coaching staff were stoked to have a legend in the building and leading the team. Rodgers himself said numerous times that he’s very happy with where he is.
Fans around the league were in for a treat with the fight for what would be the AFC East title. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills looking to make that final big step to the super bowl, Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins high powered offense and of course the new look Jets with Arod. Not to mention of course the Bengals, Ravens, Jaguars, Chargers and the Chiefs all still looking good and hungry for deep playoff runs. The AFC is stacked this season.
Week 1, the schedule makers got right to it. Monday night primetime, Jets vs Bills at Met-life in New Jersey, what should be a super exciting game to cap off a fun first week of Football.
Aaron Rodgers takes the field offically for the first time as a New York Jet. The crowds going wild, the media is everywhere and everyone is watching at home as a new era begins for both Rodgers and the Jets, everything is cinematic. What could go wrong?
Well……………..
Everything could actually.
The FIRST drive of Aaron Rodger’s tenure as a Jet, he gets sacked and tears his achilles on the way down to the ground. He try’s to walk it off and play it cool but can’t. He goes back to the ground and stays down. Carted off the field and won’t return to it this season.
One of the Biggest shockers I’ve ever personally experienced but at the same time, that’s the Jet’s luck for you, they finally get a good quarterback and a good supporting cast and the quarterback goes down almost immediately. Just real tough luck as we will have to wait another year for Rodgers to run the offense in New York.
That raises a few questions….
Will Rodgers comeback next season? and what will the Jets do at QB for the rest of this season?
Just days before the injury, Rodgers claimed that he wants to go down the Tom Brady route and play until he’s in his mid 40s. Rodgers will be 40 in December and also has to comeback from surgery. On social media, Rodgers has already made it sound as if he plans to come back next season but anything is possible. Nonetheless, we hope for a speedy recovery.
On the other hand, the Jets are once again stuck with Zach Wilson at quarterback. Not the plan B your hoping for. Wilson did hold his own week 1 as the Jets won in walk off fashion on a punt return but in week 2, we saw typical Zach Wilson as he threw three interceptions. There was a chance that Rodgers might not of thrown three interceptions all season and now it can happen possibly every game with Wilson under center.
There aren’t a lot of options in the free agency pool and the asking price on trades could be high as other teams might see the Jets as desperate. Either way, a new quarterback is gonna have to come in and learn the team’s system and learn it fast. Personally, I like the idea of the Jets going after Kirk Cousins but the odds of that happening don’t seem to high.
The Jets are in a really tough position and how they work things out, I don’t think anyone knows how so this will be something to be on the lookout for over the coming weeks.
The NFL season is just two weeks in and there is already a lot of drama and excitement and there’s more of that to come!
