As Aaron Rodgers takes the time to decide whether, and where, he wants to play next season, the Jets have been rumored to be at the top of the list among interested teams. New York is in the market for a quarterback and coming off a season where they had both rookies of the year.
However, even if Rodgers is available, one former Jet thinks the team should pass. Retired wide receiver Brandon Marshall thinks Rodgers is a bad fit in New York. Instead, he believes the team should trade for Derek Carr.
“It’s his age, but also the fit in the locker room,” Marshall said about Rodgers, via the New York Post’s Brian Costello. “Guys are definitely going to respect him, but I just feel like Derek Carr can get you there. Derek Carr is the first one in, last one out. Derek Carr, he meets people where they’re at. The chemistry and continuity is everything. Remember, we tried this before with Brett Favre. We did this, Woody. We did it. We tried this before with Brett Favre. Derek Carr, that’s all we need. We don’t need the best quarterback. We need the right quarterback.”
Marshall is clearly worried about Rodgers age at 39 years-old. The former Jet referenced when New York traded for a different Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, who was also 39 years-old when he played for the Jets in 2008. While that team missed the playoffs, they did start 8-3 before Favre suffered a shoulder injury.
Besides Carr, Marshall believes Jimmy Garoppolo would be a good fit, as both could give the Jets a longer window to win.
“So, you can go Aaron Rodgers and feel like you’ll get there, right? But what’s going to happen after next year?” he asked. “I feel like a Derek Carr, even a Jimmy [Garoppolo], with that defense, with Elijah Moore used the right way and then Garrett [Wilson], we’re set up for the next five to seven years.”
Carr reportedly visited the Saints during the week as he is expected to be traded or released by next week. Garoppolo, meanwhile, is unlikely to return to San Francisco and will become a free agent next month.
Rodgers’s decision will likely come after Carr’s, so if the Jets are waiting for the Packers quarterback then Garoppolo makes more sense as a backup option.
