Jets Should Move On From Aaron Rodgers

 

The Jets acquired star quarterback Aaron Rodgers a couple of years ago. They aggressively pursued him, wanting to make sure that they got their man.

Eventually, of course, they did.

Now admittedly, I was a bit skeptical about the movie. Despite many people jumping on the Rodgers bandwagon and claiming that Gang Green would be in the Super Bowl, I felt that Rodgers might help the Jets to become a contender, but that would be about it. 

I don't want to always be a skeptic. It's just that over the years, I have seen a number of high-profile quarterbacks come in with a lot of hype. And the thing is, the Jets never really seem to live up to that hype. That was true of Boomer Esiason, although the Jets offense made an undeniable leap forward with him at the helm. A few years later, the Jets picked up Neil O'Donnell, fresh off his Super Bowl appearance with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was a complete disaster, as the Jets went 1-15 in his first year at the helm. Vinnie Testaverde was arguably the most successful of the veteran QB's from other teams, as he led the Jets to an impressive 12-4 record in 1998, and they advanced to the AFC title game, even taking a 10-0 lead at one point in that contest. Then, there was that other legendary Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre. Under him, the Jets start off hot at 8-3, before Gang Green went into a tailspin and lost the rest of their games/. There may have been some others, like Michael Vick. But long story short: the Jets have a bad history with getting veteran QB's who bring with them a lot of hype, but leave without much else. 

Rodgers felt like another one of those. Again, I suspected that he might make Gang Green a contender, a playoff team again. Turns out, he didn't even make them much of a contender.

Last year, of course, he got injured in the first quarter of the first game of his tenure with the New York Jets. 

This year, however, you cannot even say it was because of injury. Rodgers was decent in some games, particularly the last one just days ago. Against Miami this past Sunday, in what might have been his last NFL game ever, Rodgers completed 23 of 36 passes for 274 yards and 4 touchdowns, with one interception. 

Impressive. And I guess it suggests that Rodgers can still play.

Nevertheless, I feel that it is time for Gang Green to cut their losses regarding Rodgers, and move on. He is not the answer. He was not two years ago, and he is not now. He got injured very early in the 2023 season. But this year, with Rodgers at the helm, they finished 5-12. That's nowhere near playoff level, let alone the Super Bowl, which he was bragging about taking the Jets to last year. Rodgers feels like he became more of a distraction for Gang Green than anything else. He was a polarizing figure, and seems to thrive on drama that he creates for franchises.

Yeah, it's time for Gang Green to move on. Maybe Rodgers can still be a decent quarterback, and even have some good games every now and then. Enough to perhaps provide doubts that it would be wise to move on. But I do not believe that Rodgers can be at as high a level as he used to be on a weekly basis. And when things go wrong, it seems like that is when he becomes a polarizing figure.

It's time for the Jets to move on and wish Rodgers the best.