Is Aaron Rodgers a Liability for Any Team?
The Jets have always been a franchise of utter dysfunction, and nothing is new with their latest activity. This team spent years drafting young Pro-Bowl level talent on both sides of the ball, including Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Quiennen Williams, and many others. They looked to be ascending to challenge the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and, at large, the AFC. As some final moves, they brought in Super Bowl champion-winning quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his elite wide receiver buddy, Davante Adams. What could go wrong?
Between a season-ending injury to Rodgers to start the 2023 season and a ton of drama in the building between Rodgers and the coaching staff, this team absolutely imploded this season, resulting in a 5-12 record. After a rough start, they fired one of the better “defensive-minded” head coaches in the league in Robert Saleh, which resulted in the defensive output from this team tanking. The Jets can claim that they let Saleh go because of poor results from the past few years, but this was an impulsive firing from the Jets organization to appease their quarterback’s grudge. What was the effect? The Jets’ defense went from allowing 17 points per game through the first five games of the year with Saleh to allowing 27 points per game for the rest of the season.
With the Jets finally coming to their senses, they are now cutting Aaron Rodgers loose from the franchise and starting again. However, the question remains: is Aaron Rodgers worth another organization taking a chance on him at this stage in his career? There is a common understanding in sports that teams and coaches are willing to tolerate a lot from their star players because, at the end of the day, they win games for their franchise. Aaron Rodgers has made a lot of demands, no matter if it was in Green Bay or New York. With the headaches and drama that he can create when he gets unhappy, he may be past the point of a team taking a chance on him because that toxicity outweighs the results he delivers on the field. Ever since 2021, he has had a massive regression in his performance, throwing for fewer yards and touchdowns, all while his interceptions thrown have dramatically increased. He may still be a better-than-average quarterback in the NFL currently, but with the baggage and drama that he creates for an NFL franchise, I doubt he will get re-signed unless a team is truly desperate for a quarterback.
