One of the most talked about transactions of the 2023 NFL offseason without a doubt was the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers by the New York Jets. Much was made of the move and many in the media were hyping up the New York Jets as a potential Super Bowl contender. With a young group of weapons, and elite defense, and a promising head coach, why shouldn’t they? Though now that we have the magical power of perspective, it might be fair to say that the cost to snag the services of Aaron Rodgers has made this team significantly worse sans the all-pro quarterback.
Some of the moves that were clearly made in the name of Aaron Rodgers such as the signings of players like Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Tim Boyle, Billy Turner, as well as offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett have been a complete disaster. It’s fair to say the likes of Lazard and Cobb would not start in any other team on the league, heck they aren’t even starting on their own team now that Rodgers isn’t helping lift them up.
The offensive line has been blatantly bad with Billy Turner acting like a turnstile at his position. This is all just boiling over with what is proving to be one of the worst offensive minds in the NFL in Nathaniel Hackett, who New York clearly should have been wary of given his horrendous coaching job in Denver that is now being turned around.
This has had overarching effects to the rest of the Jets roster as well. Any hopes of salvaging quarterback Zach Wilson are completely out the window as his progression has seemingly screeching to a halt after showing some cautiously optimistic signs of improvement just a few weeks ago. Yes, Wilson was not playing well, but the option behind him in Tim Boyle has turned out to be perhaps the worst quarterback in the league by the looks of it.
It’s hard to think of a more fumbled job than what has happened in New York all in the name of acquiring a quarterback that was lost by the third offensive snap of the season. It certainly doesn’t help head coach Robert Salah who is now on the hot seat, it increases the whispers of Aaron Rodgers being a pseudo diva, and it trashes what was once a thoroughly promising roster.
It really is hard to bounce back from a season like this, even with the young talent mostly intact on the roster. This feels like one of those seasons in which the clear mistakes pile up and seep into the building like a toxin that could haunt this Jets team for years.
Allowing a player to dictate roster and coaching decisions based on his potential arrival continues to prove to be a fruitless venture, and it is magnified by a thousand when your own scouting process is thrown to the wind in order to snag subpar talent at a premium price. Something has to give in New York soon, and one has to wonder how many of this front office and coaching staff will stick around to see the 2024 season.
