Injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed confidence that the 6-10 team is just one strong offseason away from competing for more than a playoff spot next year.
Ahead of the Jets’ disheartening loss to the Browns on Thursday Night Football to begin Week 17, Rodgers spoke out and explained what his team needs in the offseason.
“Offensively, I believe we need to strengthen the offensive line a bit. Clearly, we had a lot of injuries and a lot of moving pieces. There were different offensive line combinations throughout the year, so we need to address that.”
Rodgers, who joined the Jets from the Green Bay Packers via a spring trade, accepted a pay cut to assist New York in building around him through at least 2024. However, he suffered a torn Achilles just four offensive plays into the regular season on Sept. 11, leading to the Jets surrendering the second-highest number of sacks (63) for the campaign, according to StatMuse.
As of Friday, ESPN ranks the Jets 31st in the NFL, averaging 269.5 offensive yards per game and sitting 30th with an average of 15.7 points scored per contest. Despite these challenges, Jets owner Woody Johnson is expected to retain head coach Robert Saleh, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and general manager Joe Douglas.
Many believe Rodgers has some influence in these personnel decisions.
While acknowledging the talents of punter Thomas Morstead and placekicker Greg Zuerlein on Thursday evening, Rodgers emphasized his satisfaction with “the pieces that are in place moving forward” and suggested the Jets might benefit from “adding another skilled player on the outside.”
Despite Aaron Rodgers’ optimism, both statistical data and subjective evaluations suggest that the Jets require more than his return in September to break their active postseason drought, which extends to January 2025, marking the longest such drought in the four major North American sports leagues.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
