Change is something always easier said than done. We gain some idea of how we want to alter our circumstances, but it never comes to the romanticized version we come up with in our heads. While intentions can be good, they can often blow up in your face. The latter perfectly encompasses the mistakes of the New York Jets since 2023. The team in 2024 is a far cry from the exciting young core fans loved in 2022. Now, their head coach is gone. Their general manager was fired before Thanksgiving. And now sit in a worse situation than Robert Saleh’s first season. While not the sole reason for their downfall, it’s impossible not to look at Aaron Rodgers as the cause of some of these problems. The Jets realized there’s no point in retaining Aaron in 2025 and will be looking elsewhere at quarterback to begin the rebuild.
SOURCE: Barring an unforeseen change the Jets are expected to move on from QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Davante Adams this offseason.
Source tells us the relationship between owner Woody Johnson and Rodgers is “irreparable.” pic.twitter.com/FjWIHPaime
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) December 31, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
New Years Resolution: Jets to Strand Rodgers in 2024
Nothing written in this article will take away from his nearly two decades of accomplishments for the Green Bay Packers. However, he must be held accountable for over-promising and underdelivering. When the trade was official, Rodgers was treated to a hero’s welcome throughout the Tri-State area. That was the most winning Aaron has done since becoming a Jet. This season his contributions have been nothing short of detrimental. His preference for keeping the ball in his hands led to an inefficient offense. The locker room has been fractured. It’s even gotten to Garrett Wilson. No matter how prolific of a career he has, it’s delusional to choose a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers over retaining a 25-year-old wide receiver who’s putting up franchise-record numbers.
A trade that should have never happened.
In 2023, the New York Jets wanted to go for broke. Thanks to a top-five defense constructed by Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas, the Jets were building what looked like a future contender. Between stars like Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosley, DJ Reed, and Sauce Gardner; the Jets had playmakers. The offense was coming together as well led by the duo of Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall. The team felt they were a quarterback away from contending. It was vital to improve the offense they needed someone more stable instead of former number two pick Zach Wilson.
On paper, Aaron Rodgers made a lot of sense for the Jets. A veteran with decades of playoff experience, a Super Bowl ring, and four MVPs seemed like the best man to run the offense. However, even in 2022, Aaron Rodgers was looking long in the tooth. You’ll see a lot of similarities between Aaron’s numbers in his last year in Green Bay compared to this year.
Aaron Rodgers has regressed.
In 2022, his completion percentage was only 64.6%, good for 24th in the league. This year, he’s 27th in the league with 63%. He’s thrown double-digit interceptions in each of his last two seasons as a starter. He’s thrown the fourth most passes in the league this year, which only emphasizes how terrible he’s been. This is alarming considering Jared Goff, Josh Allen, and even Sam Darnold have better numbers with nearly 50 fewer passes thrown. Lamar Jackson has had the best statistical seasons of his career, with over 100 fewer passes thrown than Rodgers.
His preference for audibles also cost New York with the ill-timed delay of game penalties. This involves Davante Adams too. As skilled of a wide receiver as there is, Aaron has ruined drives by going to Davante as his first read. There were countless missed opportunities to score. But drives were blown by Aaron making the wrong read. Aaron Rodgers’s resume is remarkable, it doesn’t wipe away his regression.
Wanted to see this angle of the Aaron Rodgers miss to Kenny Yeboah. It’s even worse than I thought!
He points to Yeboah to go upfield and he still missed him!!! pic.twitter.com/mUTRiXOqET
— Ryan Sampson (@RyanMSampson) December 30, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Problems with the running game
While he’s not entirely to blame for all the Jets woes, he can be blamed for unintentionally harming the running game. Breece Hall was set for a great campaign this year. Fully recovered from the ACL tear and working with Derrick Henry’s ex-running back coach, the stage was set for a superstar season. Although productive, Hall and the running back room weren’t used to their strength. Averaging only 90.2 yards per game, New York has the 31st rank rushing offense. Part of this is due to Aaron’s waning scrambling ability.
The Achilles injury robbed more of Aaron Rodgers’s athleticism than he’s willing to admit. One of the reasons Breece Hall could be so efficient last year was the threat of Zach Wilson’s running ability. While not a scrambler by choice, Zach was athletic enough to sell an option and run for the occasional first down. It let Breece catch linebackers off guard for the chance at a big run. But, due to the injury and advanced age of Aaron, defenses can easily identify when New York was going to run. The result has Breece Hall with his lowest yard per carry of his young career. It’s wrong to force Breece Hall to adapt his play to appease an aging veteran.
Best for both sides to part ways
Aaron Rodgers is going to be a Hall of Famer. His bust will be in the halls of Canton, Ohio among the best in this game due to his over two decades in the league. He’s accomplished a great deal for the Green Bay Packers organization. But that was all in the past. This season has shown why New York jumped the gun trading for Aaron.
Whatever hopes they had for the experiment were dashed when he tore his Achilles. While one can admire his determination to continue playing, it’s just not redeemable in New York. Woody Johnson knows he made a mistake and even tried to bench Aaron earlier this season. It’s a relationship that started with good intentions, but it wasn’t in the cards. The important thing for the Jets now is to support the new regime by not handicapping them with an aged veteran with one foot out the door under center.
It’s unknown whether Aaron Rodgers will play another snap of football after January 5th. However, it’s clear to see that won’t be in a green number eight jersey at Metlife Stadium in the future. For Aaron, it’s a chance to do some needed soul-searching. Meanwhile, New York is ready to set the foundation for their next rebuild. It can’t get any worse than this, right?
Main Photo: [Tina MacIntyre-Yee] – USA Today Sports
The post New Years Resolution: Jets to Strand Aaron Rodgers in 2024 appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.