They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and there is unbridled Joy in Jetville today because Aaron Rodgers will be donning his new No. 8 and arriving any day now to steer Woody Johnson’s green-and-white ship.
“Historic trade for this franchise,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas called the catching of the biggest fish in the NFL ocean.
The aftershocks were immediate and felt everywhere inside the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on Monday, and beyond, and soon will be inside an inspired locker room.
“Some high-fives and hugs, and a lot of excitement,” Douglas said.
Rodgers changes everything for the Jets the second he swaggers into the building. He changes more than the perception of a franchise that has not sniffed the playoffs since the 2010 season. He gives the young Jets corps — Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall, et. al, and the veterans desperate for success, belief. He gives the fan base hope following too many years of hopelessness.
“I think anytime you add a player of Aaron’s caliber, it’s going to raise the level of everyone,” Douglas said. “There’s going to be a standard that needs to be met. So I feel like from the beginning when it started hitting the internet about it being a possibility, I think everybody’s antennas went up, the intent, the focus. I think everybody is going to answer the bell when it comes to meeting that standard.”
It is the effect that Tom Brady had on the Bucs. He helped unite the building and still had enough left in his 41-year-old tank to win his seventh Super Bowl. The Jets are confident that Rodgers, compromised last season by a broken thumb and the departure of wide receiver Davante Adams, can return to his MVP form of 2020 and 2021, even at age 39 going on 40.
“Obviously he’s not very far removed from back-to-back MVPs. You still have someone that maybe didn’t play at 100 percent throughout the year, but still performed at a high level,” Douglas said.
Douglas’ glass was so half-full that he made a guarantee that might have made Joe Willie himself smile.
“I guarantee you that there’s gonna be a bunch of players that are gonna come in and really try to rewrite how the story ended last year,” Douglas said, “and make sure that we’re not in that position again.”
That position was on their backs, crisis and chaos in the quarterback room, six straight defeats to end the season, no one to bark R-E-L-A-X the way Rodgers undoubtedly would have.
Aaron Rodgers traded to the Jets
On Monday, after months of speculation and rumors, the Jets and Packers came to an agreement on a trade that brings four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York.
The trade immediately upgrades the Jets from rising team to playoff contender with the hopes that Rodgers will help break one of the longest active postseason droughts in sports.
The trade
The Jets receive: Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 pick (2023) and No. 170 pick (2023).
The Packers receive: No. 13 pick (2023), No. 42 pick (2023), No. 207 pick (2023) and a conditional second-round 2024 draft pick that conveys to a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ plays in 2023.
What comes next
The trade still needs to be finalized — the terms of Rodgers’ contract need to be worked out — and sent to the NFL.
Both teams will begin feeling this deal as early as Thursday at the 2023 NFL Draft.
For the Packers, it’s now about getting fourth-year QB Jordan Love ready to take over. With Gang Green, it’s about getting a whole host of new faces on the same page offensively.
The prospect of Rodgers lifting the Jets back up has already lifted the spirits in and around Jets Country. Talk of the town.
“They’re excited … they got a great quarterback coming in,” said Johnny of CJ’s Deli in Madison, where Sam Darnold used to stop by for a grilled chicken, pepper Jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo on a toasted sub for lunch. What might Rodgers order when he accepts the open invitation offered on Tuesday from CJ’s Deli?
“JG Special,” Johnny said. That would be chicken, melted provolone on a toasted roll, lettuce, tomato, dash of vinegar, seasoning.
“I think he’s more of a roast beef kinda guy,” an employee named Stevie said.
A loyal customer named Arber Gocaj talked about his morning at Retro Fitness in Kennilworth, N.J.
“There are a lot of people wearing Jets gear,” he said. “They were like very, very happy.”
Rodgers will be a Jet because Douglas whiffed on Zach Wilson with the second-overall pick in 2021. But Rodgers is also a Jet because Douglas rebounded with a draft for the ages last year. And never is heard a discouraging word about head coach Robert Saleh, who nevertheless confronts a playoffs-or-bust season with his future Hall of Fame quarterback in tow.
Saleh will probably be sleeping in his Positive Vibes Only T-shirt that at the very least created an environment that was a quarterback away from making noise in his second season.
Rodgers deciding to play for the Jets is evidence that Douglas and Saleh have made them a Team of Destination, and Rodgers can serve as chief recruiter — he already has with receiver Allen Lazard — if Murphy’s Law doesn’t sabotage the franchise and keep him from playing beyond 2023.
“It’s a real credit to Robert and his staff in what he’s been able to implement with our players and with everyone here that a player of Aaron’s caliber would even want to come here,” Douglas said.
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At his season-ending press conference, Douglas was asked about the possibility of adding a veteran quarterback.
“That’s a hypothetical I’d say,” he said. “I think as it pertains to upgrading the roster, we’re going to look at every avenue, every position, every different way we can to upgrade the team.”
But quarterback was clearly the most critical position that needed upgrading. The albatross that prevented the Jets from Taking Flight. “The missing piece,” Woody Johnson said. Out went offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. In came OC Nathaniel Hackett, Rodgers’ former OC. It immediately made the Jets the favorites to land Rodgers. The missing piece who makes the Jets whole. Welcome to Rodgersmania.