One can assume New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson is taking the news like most of the Gang Green faithful that have slogged throughout the decades of mediocrity and dysfunction.
“Stop playn,” the young star tweeted on Monday evening as reports emerged that four-time NFL MVP and future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers is heading to the Jets.
The arduous stalemate between the Packers and Jets is over. A trade has been hammered out, sending Rodgers, the No. 15 pick at the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday, and a fifth-round pick to New York for the 13th and 42nd overall picks along with a sixth-round pick. A conditional second-round pick also goes to the Packers in 2024 that could become a first if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets snaps in 2023.
Now the Jets are ready to fly out of the dark ages that featured 20 years of New England Patriots dominance in the AFC East with their sights firmly set on challenging the Buffalo Bills for divisional supremacy.
That’s what this kind of move does for the Jets — but it’s also important to be realistic when approaching this situation.
Rodgers is 39 years old and expecting him to win a league MVP as he did when he was 28 or 31… or 37 or 38 is unfair.
But the Jets don’t need him to win an MVP. They just need him to play.
He’s coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro, throwing for 3,695 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Yet, if he were wearing a Jets uniform, he’d be just the second quarterback in franchise history with a season of 3,600-plus yards with 25 or more touchdowns and 12 or fewer interceptions. Ken O’Brien threw for 3,888 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 1985.
That’s how rare competency at the quarterback position has been for the Jets.
Now, instead of trying to develop a young quarterback like Zach Wilson or Sam Darnold or Geno Smith or Mark Sanchez, they can finally just plug in an NFL-ready passer (and a legendary one at that) and hit the ground running.
Plus, Rodgers is entering an offense that is providing him with the best set of weapons he probably has ever had. Allen Lazard, who was his top receiver in recent years in Green Bay, is the No. 3 receiver on the Gang Green’s depth chart after he was acquired last month.
No longer will he have to starve for playmakers on the outside. Garrett Wilson is one of the best young receivers in the NFL after winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Corey Davis, whose future is up in the air with the Jets, showed the promise of being a 1,000-yard receiver with the Tennessee Titans before dealing with the growing pains of Zach Wilson. Mecole Hardman was brought in to add more speed on the outside. And then there is Rodgers’ ol’ reliable in Lazard, who posted a career-high 788 yards last year in Green Bay.
In the backfield, Breece Hall showed the promise of developing into a star, too — adding another weapon to Rodgers’ arsenal.
It certainly seems like this is the year that the Jets will have a scoring offense ranked better than 23rd in the NFL, which was their highest standing over the last seven years (2018). But more importantly, this could finally be the year their 12-season playoff drought — which is currently the longest in North American professional sports — ends.
For more on the Jets and Aaron Rodgers, visit AMNY.com
