Aaron Rodgers tried his best to stay in the background on Friday, even as reports bubbled up again about his quest to return from injury to play for the New York Jets this season.
Rodgers didn’t throw a football around on the MetLife Stadium field before the game, as he has in other weeks. He mostly stayed out of the way during the game against the Miami Dolphins, too. He wore a headset and was an active voice again with Jets coaches, a team source said, but there was less hubbub than usual.
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When the Jets’ defense was on the field, Rodgers could be spotted sitting on the team bench, often alone, draped in one of those oversized sideline coats that NFL players wear when it’s cold. He’d watch film from the previous series on a Microsoft Surface, and when the offense took the field, he’d walk toward the sideline and take his place, sometimes offering words of wisdom to quarterback Tim Boyle along the way.
“Aaron’s a peaceful, calming presence for me,” Boyle said. “He does a good job of painting a good picture for a quarterback.”
The picture the Jets painted against the Dolphins on Friday wasn’t a pretty one. They lost 34-13 and the offense, led by Boyle, remained an abject disaster, personified by the humiliating Hail Mary pick six Boyle threw before halftime. The Jets are 4-7, on a four-game losing streak and underdogs for Sunday’s home game against an Atlanta Falcons team that’s 5-6.
There isn’t much reason for hope, to believe that coach Robert Saleh will be able to stave off the in-progress collapse after a 4-3 start. At present, his record as Jets coach is 15-30. Joe Douglas’ record as GM: 24-53.
Yet internally, the Jets are operating as if the whole regime — Saleh, Douglas and even offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — will be back in 2024.
That’s because Aaron Rodgers is their lifeline.
Rodgers, who turns 40 on Saturday, might wield more power than any other player in the NFL. It goes beyond the personnel influence he deployed this offseason, motivating Douglas to sign Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Billy Turner and Dalvin Cook — none of whom has made an impact.
Owner Woody Johnson is almost certainly dissatisfied with the Jets’ offense this season — it ranks last in yardage, third-down conversions, red-zone touchdowns and 30th in scoring — but Saleh and Douglas can dangle the Rodgers carrot. They can say that his return will fix all of their problems, even if that’s ultimately an unreasonable expectation to put on a 40-year-old quarterback coming off Achilles surgery.
Rodgers has the power to ensure their job security: If he says that he’ll return only if this coaching staff remains intact, then it will be locked in and safe. Johnson values Rodgers’ opinion and it would be surprising if he didn’t seek it out.
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He also has the power to demand coaching change, though nobody expects that to happen at this juncture, especially if Hackett remains the primary play-caller.
Even as the Jets’ offense has bumbled through this season with Hackett at the helm, with play-calling tendencies that could generously be described as uninventive, Rodgers has maintained a belief in Hackett and the system he runs.
“I won MVP twice in the same offense, so I’m a believer,” Rodgers said on Nov. 14. “I’m a believer in the offense.”
Hackett, though, didn’t call plays in those Green Bay years — Packers coach Matt LaFleur did. That distinction doesn’t ultimately matter: The truth is that when Rodgers plays, he’s the primary play-caller, not Hackett. This offense was designed around the idea that he’d be the one running it. So all the issues the Jets are having on offense, in their mind, trace back to the fact this is an offense that requires Rodgers’ brain and arm — an impossible standard that neither Zach Wilson nor Boyle was ever going to live up to.
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Rodgers also pointed out that “there are a lot of positions that have to play better.” He’s right about that.
Lazard has the worst drop percentage of any wide receiver with at least 30 targets and was a healthy scratch just 11 games after he signed a $44 million contract. Cobb has three catches for 20 yards in 180 offensive snaps. Mecole Hardman was traded, Corey Davis retired and undrafted rookies Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee haven’t made a significant impact. Running back Breece Hall got off to a fast start but has struggled lately, rushing for 182 yards on 70 carries over the last six games after rushing for 177 yards on 22 carries in Week 5.
The Jets’ offense has struggled under play-caller Nathaniel Hackett. (Ron Chenoy / USA Today)The offensive line also remains an issue. The Jets have started eight different groups in 11 games, which might bump up to nine in 12 games this week if left tackle Duane Brown returns.
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Even star wide receiver Garrett Wilson has had his struggles recently.
So that all begs the question of what exactly Rodgers would be returning to if he were cleared to play again this season.
Rodgers is back with the team and, per some reports, wants to practice this week. He is unlikely to be cleared for that, but his return to the facility is at least notable. Previously, he flew in on the weekend to attend games before returning to California to spend the week rehabbing.
Left guard Laken Tomlinson said he saw Rodgers getting treatment at the Jets’ facility on Monday.
“Just seeing Aaron working as hard as he can, that’s motivation for me,” Tomlinson said.
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Rodgers has said that he’d return to the field only if the Jets still had something to play for. He reportedly wants to return to practice soon in some capacity and to game action Dec. 24 against the Washington Commanders. That’s Week 16. Odds are, the Jets’ playoff hopes will have evaporated by then.
The Jets’ struggles won’t necessarily impact Rodgers’ rehab, he said last week on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“No, not at all,” Rodgers said. “I find those two are mutually exclusive. The speed at which I’m doing the rehab has been the same from the beginning — push it as hard as we can every single day.”
As the Jets continue to struggle, though, Rodgers now seemingly wants to return regardless of where they stand in the playoff hunt. His motivation is mostly tied to proving two types of doubters wrong:
1. Those who doubted his ability to come back from this injury.
2. Those who doubt Hackett’s offense can work.
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For Saleh and Douglas’ sake, Rodgers’ determination to play this season puts them in an interesting spot.
On one hand, if Rodgers came back and looked like himself, Jets brass could hang their hat on actual hard evidence of how much better the team can (and will) be with him at quarterback. It would give them a positive morale boost heading into the offseason, too, especially since much of this offensive unit (including Lazard) will return in 2024.
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It also could backfire. What if Rodgers returns and gets hurt again? Or, what if Rodgers returns and plays poorly?
“There is a chance that (an injury) can happen,” Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “But there’s also a chance we can witness something that hasn’t been done before.”
On the flip side, if Rodgers simply doesn’t play this season — which remains the most likely outcome — the prospect of him coming in to save the day in 2024 should be just enough to keep Saleh, Douglas and Hackett around.
“I am talking to Aaron all the time, just about life and football and all that good stuff. Until he is cleared by doctors, all of it is a moot point and I haven’t gotten any indication otherwise,” Saleh said last week. “I love that he is working hard. I think that it shows the type of character he is. I have said that before: He is relentlessly trying to get back to this football team as quickly as he can.”
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(Top photos of Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh: Rich Schultz / Getty Images)
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