Aaron Rodgers is probably going to be a New York Jet.
He’ll look strange in their uniform and shoot down anyone searching for more clarifying nuggets, but the four-time MVP quarterback will likely (eventually?) wear the famed green and white.
Rodgers even discussing the Jets in public is undoubtedly a colossal triumph for this franchise. Before even throwing a single pass for them, he’s made New York the talk of the pro football world. Words can’t do this looming blockbuster trade justice for a team far more synonymous with football follies than any actual success.
If any bottom-feeding team needed someone like a 39-year-old, probably past-his-prime Rodgers to inject relevance, it’d be Gang Green.
Moreover, the New York City media market would’ve never let the Jets live this failure down. After all this incessant flirting, can you imagine New York sports talk radio if Rodgers decides to retire or return to the Green Bay Packers?
It’d be apocalyptic. If I were in the shoes of chairman Woody Johnson or head coach Robert Saleh, I don’t think I’d show my face around Jets fans in public for a long time. The Jets painted themselves into a corner to make Rodgers a part of their plans, and they have to paint themselves out.
But the Jets don’t have to be so shamelessly brazen in their pursuit of Rodgers.
They don’t have to disregard their dignity for a person who is very likely using them as a conduit for a power trip more than his passion for JETS FOOTBALL. Rodgers does not care about the Jets as much as someone like the passionate “Fireman Ed.” Not that he has to reciprocate their adoration, but why is New York rolling out the red carpet repeatedly for a mercurial egotist who would cast them aside on a whim the moment it served his interests?
The Jets were and likely remain the only team truly interested in trading for Rodgers. Beyond the sensible football reasons, I’m reasonably confident that’s not a coincidence.
This sentiment might go double for players like Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. The First-Team All-Pro cornerback made a show of burning away an awesome early-career memento seemingly just so Rodgers would notice his embarrassing team. Meanwhile, Garrett Wilson could barely contain his joy on Twitter … days before Rodgers would clarify the latest developments.
It was all a little on-the-nose and completely irrelevant to competing for a Super Bowl title.
Which … I assume the Jets still want to do, right? Right? Maybe?
I understand the Jets’ eagerness for the first potentially legitimate franchise QB they’ve ever had since Joe Namath. I know the scars of Zach Wilson turning out to be a bust are still reverberating. Heck, there’s a distinct possibility New York’s loaded roster would’ve been playing in late January/early February this past season if Wilson was marginally competent.
So courting Rodgers and placating him almost every step of the way aligns with an organization that thinks the finish line is right there. It makes sense. I can’t deny it.
That said, and I might be wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an NFL team sacrifice all its pride for one player like Rodgers the way the Jets have.
I just hope the Jets don’t come to regret their relentless groveling.