Ralph Vacchiano
NFL reporter
Woody Johnson has been on a mission as of late, settling all his household affairs with the New York Jets earlier than most likely leaving for England in a number of months to take care of political enterprise once more. First, he removed coach Robert Saleh. Then on Tuesday it was common supervisor Joe Douglas’ flip.
Aaron Rodgers will likely be subsequent.
It looks like issues are headed in that course because the newly shaped Hurricane Woody tears aside his downtrodden franchise, meddling in methods he is seemingly by no means meddled earlier than. He had reportedly sidelined Douglas lengthy earlier than firing him and beginning making his personal roster selections. He additionally reportedly instructed benching Rodgers after a disappointing efficiency in Week 4.
But nothing is ever assured when the 77-year-old Johnson is concerned. He has lengthy been thought-about vulnerable to the whims of public opinion or open to the whispers of insiders he thinks he ought to belief. People who know him say it is not inconceivable that somebody with Rodgers’ standing may persuade him to present it one other shot.
In truth, a supply aware of the Jets’ plans instructed FOX Sports on Tuesday that there was “no likelihood” of Rodgers returning, which sounded good till the supply added, “nevertheless it actually is dependent upon who’s listening Woody.” Johnson will first have to rent a brand new common supervisor and coach, and it is arduous to think about any certified candidate would wish to work with a struggling 41-year-old quarterback.
Except…
“Sometimes he hears what he desires to listen to,” the supply mentioned, “and generally folks inform him what he desires to listen to.”
So hear this: Bringing Rodgers again in 2025 could be one of many dumbest issues Johnson has carried out in his 25 years of working the franchise, which clearly says quite a bit. He was proper to lure Rodgers out of obscurity two years in the past, when it actually seemed just like the Jets have been one competent quarterback away from Super Bowl rivalry. It was completely price it to make that huge shot for a franchise that’s about to overlook the playoffs for the 14th straight season and hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in 55 years.
But they received the worst of Rodgers in each means conceivable. And a few of it was self-inflicted. It wasn’t simply that Rodgers snapped his 4 Achilles performs in his first season with the Jets, or that he hobbled this yr with knee, ankle and hamstring accidents. It’s not even simply that he is 3-8 and headed for one of many worst statistical seasons of his future Hall of Fame profession.
It’s additionally that the Jets, with Johnson’s blessing, gave Rodgers the flexibility to have near-total management over their roster selections. Douglas had carried out a extremely good job of stocking the franchise with expertise. They had among the finest defenses within the NFL and extremely expert younger gamers like Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. But then they wasted cap house and draft capital, buying a variety of Rodgers’ buddies like receivers Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard and backup quarterback Tim Boyle. They additionally not too long ago traded a third-round decide for former Packer Davante Adams — a surprisingly excessive worth and a deal reportedly ordered by Johnson on Rodgers’ behalf.
Worse, as a substitute of letting Saleh take over his selection of offensive coordinators, they employed Nathanial Hackett, a Rodgers favourite with a doubtful monitor file at any time when he wasn’t teaching Rodgers in his prime. Hackett’s offense, to nobody’s shock, was a catastrophe, and he was finally stripped of play-calling duties simply as Johnson threw Saleh out the door.
There’s no technique to know whether or not Saleh and Douglas may have carried out higher with this crew in the event that they hadn’t agreed to a de facto player-GM. But the brand new regime can not have these sorts of restrictions, whether or not ordered or just implicit. This younger Jets crew really has a variety of expertise on the roster and most of it is going to be again subsequent season.
They simply cannot have a demanding 41-year-old at quarterback weighing them down.
Of course, this being the Jets, they hid themselves in a quarterback nook with no apparent escape route. Parting methods with Rodgers will not be low-cost or straightforward. Thanks to the massive contract they overhauled once they traded for him in 2023, he’ll go away a whopping $49 million in “useless cash” on their books, which is only a painful capsule they must discover a technique to swallow.
The greatest drawback is that the Jets have been so “all in” with him that they by no means bothered to plan for what would occur if their geriatric quarterback faltered. They have not drafted a quarterback within the first 4 rounds since whiffing on first-rounder Zach Wilson in 2021, so there is not any successor on the roster. Worse but for the Jets, they might at present be choosing seventh general in what is usually seen as a weak draft at quarterback. And there are not any nice choices in free company both, until they’re loopy sufficient to attempt to lure Sam Darnold again.
Ironically, that makes Rodgers concurrently their greatest and worst possibility. But they can’t delude themselves into believing that the very best is but to come back. They should settle for the ache that comes from the dangerous selections of their previous. Maybe it is going to take a number of years earlier than they discover the franchise quarterback they have been searching for for 50 years. It could even take so lengthy that the majority of their present core of expertise will disappear.
But they must do it. Just like they’ve to take a seat in silence when Rodgers goes on his inevitable post-Jets podcast tour and blames everybody however himself. They should perceive that they won’t get far on their path to salvation with the final growing older star who they thought could possibly be their savior. Johnson has to remain robust, whilst Rodgers prompts the spell, swears he is discovered some form of potion that can magically make him wholesome, and tries to promote the Jets on one final run.
It appeared like a extremely whole lot on the time. No one can fault Johnson and the Jets for swinging over the fences. It merely did not work, and there’s no likelihood – completely none – that it’s going to work higher sooner or later. The Aaron Rodgers period in New York has reached its inevitable finish. It should be over.
It’s time to show off the lights, so perhaps another person can flip them on.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the earlier six years protecting the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York and, earlier than that, 16 years protecting the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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