Rodgers Isn’t Saving This Jets Season, Nor Should His Injury Save Those Responsible For This Mess

Bryan Woolston/AP

I don’t doubt that Aaron Rodgers has great sway over the direction of the New York Jets. It’s probably the only reason the organization acceded to opening the 21-day practice window on Wednesday, a mere 11 weeks after the future Hall of Fame quarterback had surgery on his ruptured Achilles from the season’s fourth snap.

This isn’t about Rodgers actually “playing.” The organization and Rodgers seem to agree that it makes no sense for him to suit up again this season because, A) It wouldn’t be safe, and B) What’s the point, since the Jets (4-7) are far outside the playoff picture? Rodgers has acknowledged in public that he wanted to attack this rehab so he could prove to the world that his healing methods would defy the medical universe. Bravo.  

After 21 days, I’d expect that this Jets season will be so far gone that only clickbait outlets will keep bringing up the possibility of the team activating Rodgers (Note: Even if they do, he doesn’t have to be on the 45-man game day list—just look at tackle Duane Brown). Sure, the Jets could win a game in the interim, including Sunday’s home tilt versus Atlanta, but that won’t be enough to change the overall trajectory of a 13^th consecutive missed postseason.

When that happens, I’m not sold on Rodgers attributing the entire 2023 debacle to his injury. In his unanticipated role as an observer, he’s had to have gotten a crystal-clear picture as to how dysfunctional this organization operates. If he doesn’t feel like returning for a 20^th NFL season, he might not care. Since all indications point to him reporting to One Jets Drive for offseason workouts, I’d think he’d care quite a bit.

Hence, this idea that management, including the coaching staff, all deserve a mulligan and will be safe from an offseason purge seems to be built on a house of cards. Rodgers has a personal relationship with Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett—that’s it. He has no such experience that would make him loyal to General Manager Joe Douglas or even Head Coach Robert Saleh. Should the Jets proceed with a third straight swoon to end the season, it could easily motivate owner Woody Johnson to make the necessary changes, with Rodgers’ blessing.

Douglas may have made certain personnel choices that bombed (wide receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, for example) last offseason with Rodgers in mind, but does it seem to you that Rodgers is the type who is going to stand up and take the blame for them? If anything, I believe he’d use Douglas’ misevaluation of the offensive line that got him hurt as cannon fodder.  

Similarly, Saleh was the first head coach in Rodgers’ career whose background was on the defensive side of the ball. Things may have worked differently with Rodgers on the field, but again, strictly as an observer, he can’t have a high opinion of Saleh’s approach to on-field discipline and the overall conservative philosophy.  

The only thing the Johnson brothers allegedly hate more than paying people after letting them go is probably having to start over. They’re trust fund beneficiaries, not football men. They’ve been easily swayed in the past into picking the wrong people to lead the football side of the business.  

That doesn’t mean that they will automatically punt come January 8. Nor should they. There is nothing in Douglas’ or Saleh’s record to date that suggests another year will transform the team into winners. Douglas has been responsible for player personnel since the 2020 season; Saleh came on board in 2021. That’s plenty of time to steer an NFL program in the right direction.

Not only has the franchise gone sideways at best, this particular team has been another embarrassment to everyone—from fans to ownership--with Rodgers’ injury exposing how weak the offensive side of the roster really was. To have expected his presence, at age 39, to have lifted up the entire organization was always just a fantasy.

The proper path is to clean house. Start with the GM position and rebuild from there. When it comes to the Head Coach, the focus should be on promising offensive minds, like how Miami went with Mike McDaniel to unlock a prehistoric attack. They can even make him keep Hackett for a year to placate Rodgers, since it seems like he’s the actual play-caller anyway.   

Of course, Jets fans must always entertain the possibility that the team finishes off the season respectably. We’ve seen it too often before. It’s painful to think back to those meaningless two late-season wins in 2020 that led to the selection of Zach Wilson at No. 2 overall in the ensuing Draft, when it could have easily been Trevor Lawrence, who has instead helped to lift up the miserable Jacksonville franchise.

A reprise might fool Johnson, which is why you should be of two minds should the Jets win any of these remaining six games. (Like Sunday.)

Prediction: Jets 19 Falcons 16