After last season’s false start, the New York Jets will be hoping that the Aaron Rodgers era can begin in earnest this season.
After trading for the four-time NFL MVP last offseason, the Jets saw their Super Bowl hopes blown when Rodgers tore his Achilles on their fourth offensive play from scrimmage.
The injury would sideline the 40-year-old for the rest of the season as the Jets limped to a 7-10 record and extended their playoff drought to 14 years - the longest of any team in the ‘big four’ North American sports leagues.
Head coach Robert Saleh has now given an update on Rodgers’ recovery and believes his quarterback is ‘on a mission’ ahead of the 2024 season.
“He is working his tail off in California,” Saleh said at the annual league meeting, as per NBC. “He has been communicating with us, not daily, but often. But knowing Aaron, he is on a mission to do a lot of the things he wanted to do last year, and he is not going to stop until he gets it done.”
Saleh added that he believes Rodgers will participate in the team’s offseason workouts.
“As you guys know, OTAs has become a 7-on-7 camp,” Saleh added. “And that should mean he will be able to do all that stuff. But, as we get closer, and we are the next couple of weeks, we will communicate more with him.”
Meanwhile, Jets owner Woody Johnson addressed the issue of Rodgers’ backup, insisting that if the team was not able to trade Zach Wilson, he will remain with the team.
“If we don’t trade him, we’re gonna keep him,” Johnson said, via SNY.
"He's got the skill. He can do everything. There's a reason we drafted him at No. 2 overall. I have confidence that he’ll get there at some point.”
However, Johnson did say that he believes Wilson himself would benefit from a change of scenery.
“From his standpoint it’s probably better if he changes face and gets to a new place and he can wipe the slate clean.”
The Jets signed former Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor during free agency earlier this month.
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