J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS JETS! The hype was real surrounding the Jets this year, all because of the arrival of one man who would be able to take the Jets into a place they haven’t seen in a while – the playoffs. This man is known as Aaron Rodgers, who, as of recently, was on the Green Bay Packers for 17 years.
Now, how did the Jets acquire Rodgers? Two days before the 2023 NFL Draft, the Jets traded for Rodgers, giving up a first, second, and sixth round pick, as well as a conditional pick. The conditional pick becomes a first round pick if Rodgers plays 65% of the season.
Things were looking up for the Jets, who went out and acquired everything to make it a seamless transition from Green Bay to New York. They acquired Nathaniel Hacket, the former Offensive Coordinator of the Packers, as well as receivers such as Randall Cobb, running-back Dalvin Cook (who didn’t sign until the beginning of pre-season), and other players Rodgers worked with before.
The Jets were also featured on this year’s Hard Knocks, which follows one team throughout the pre-season. A lot was riding on the Jets this year. A lot of people predicted them winning the AFC East, the AFC entirely, and some even said the Super Bowl.
The hype was real for the Jets. The culture immediately shifted as everyone rallied around Aaron Rodgers. This year was going to be the year when the Jets turned heads. Everyone followed his leadership; players started picking up on his leadership skills and started pushing everyone forward.
There was already a great defense on the field, but their offense lacked that special someone. Aaron Rodgers changed that and immediately took the offense from average to great. There was genuine hope and excitement for this team.
Their first game of the season was a Monday night matchup against the Bills on September 11 at Metlife Stadium. It was an iconic moment, Rodgers running out of the tunnel holding an American Flag, with a spotlight shining on him the entire time.
The Bills went down the field and got nothing out of it due to the Jets’ defense. The Bills punted, and then it became the Jets’ turn to march. All that hype and excitement was ready to be unfolded, and everyone wanted to see what the new-look Jets would do. The first three plays were good, and the jets were going down the field – then, it happened…the fourth play.
The fourth play may go down as one of the greatest franchise shifters in the history of the NFL, rivaling that of Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady back in 2001.
Seventy-five seconds – that’s how long it took before everything collapsed. The worst case scenario happened, and, adding more insult to injury, Rodgers hadn’t even thrown a pass yet for his new team. Rodgers got up and then immediately went down, and everyone in the stadium was holding their breath.
No one knew what had happened and what was about to come. Rodgers tore his achilles, basically ruling him out for the entire season. This injury shifted the energy in the organization.
The Jets put so much time and money into this process, all for it to collapse in under 2 minutes. The weight of this team now falls on Zack Wilson’s shoulders. While he has some newfound confidence, he still has issues from last year.
The Jets are also now on a QB hunt after losing Mike White to free agency. It’ll be interesting to see where the Jets will go now, since the roster was adjusted for Rodgers, and now they have to make it a scheme that Zack Wilson can run.
The Jets’ offseason was one filled with hype and optimism, but it all came crashing down four plays into the season.
