Now that the New York Jets have finalized the trade with the Green Bay Packers that gives them Aaron Rodgers, Gang Green has — in theory, at least — the greatest quarterback in franchise history. Although, with apologies to everyone from Joe Namath to Richard Todd to Mark Sanchez… well, it’s a pretty low bar. The Jets are not a team noted for great quarterback play, and the thought here is that the current team is set up everywhere else for a deep playoff run, and Rodgers just puts them over the top.
Hypothetically, that is absolutely the case. Rodgers at his peak was the best pure thrower of the football I’ve ever seen, and his peak lasted quite a while. He was doing stuff in the early parts of the 2010s that bordered on optical illusion, and given what the Jets are spending on this deal, they clearly believe he’s still got more than enough in the tank at age 39 (he’ll turn 40 on December 2), to do what Tom Brady did in the 2020 season and Matthew Stafford did the next year — become the final addition on a team ready for the Lombardi Trophy.
That’s great in theory. What we are dealing with in Rodgers’ 2022 season are numbers that are well below what he have come to expect. Rodgers completed 350 of 542 passes for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 91.1. That’s his fifth-lowest completion rate (64.6%) over his career as a starter since 2008. It’s his third-lowest touchdown rate (4.8%), his fourth-highest interception rate (2.2%), his lowest Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt (5.95), and his lowest passer rating.
Of course, we’re talking about a “bad” season from one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, so the Jets would take that every day, and several times every Sunday. But when we look at Rodgers’ future, even with a good team, it’s worth diving into the tape to see exactly where he is at this point in his career, and what he still has to offer.