The New York Jets are having a disastrous season. The team owner wanted to draw conclusions early in the season and demote Aaron Rodgers to backup.
by Oliver Jensen,
Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets are having a disastrous season. They have lost seven of the last eight games, meaning they currently have a record of three wins and eight defeats. Head coach Robert Saleh was fired on October 8th without any improvement. Yesterday, Monday, general manager Joe Douglas was also fired.
According to a report by The Athletic, a power struggle took place behind the scenes several weeks ago. The reason for this is said to have been the lack of performance from Rodgers, who ranks outside the top 10 in passing yards (2,442).
A low point was his performance in week four at the Denver Broncos, when he completed 24 of 42 passes for 225 yards, but the offense failed to score a touchdown. Kicker Greg Zuerlein scored three field goals for the only points, the Jets lost 9:10.
Team owner Woody Johnson is said to have brought up the idea of benching Aaron Rodgers in favor of backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor at a meeting. In his opinion, the performance of the experienced quarterback was very weak and prevented the entire team from exploiting its true potential.
However, the coaches convinced Johnson that demoting a four-time MVP to backup after just four games would destabilize the team and put Rodgers in a difficult situation. To make sure Johnson was serious, he was asked several times to confirm his opinion. Apparently he did.
Rodgers took responsibility for coaching changes
However, Rodgers’ performances didn’t get any better after that. A week after the meeting, they lost 17:23 to the then undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers threw three interceptions, including two in the first quarter. This was the first time this had happened to him in his 20-year NFL career.
Coach Saleh was fired after the defeat. Rodgers took full responsibility for the team’s decision during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “If I play better, this won’t happen,” he said, apparently telling the truth.
However, there was no improvement after Saleh’s dismissal. Under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, the Jets only won once in six games. Would things have gone better without Rodgers? Since Johnson could not prevail, this question remains unanswered.
On the one hand, the team owner’s efforts at the time suggest that Rodgers is unlikely to have a future with the Jets. The problem, however, is that the quarterback is still under contract in New York next year with a cap hit of $23.5 million. According to “Sportrac,” the dead cap is even $49 million.
Also interesting: NFL – Jets chaos surrounding Aaron Rodgers: Owner Woody Johnson is destroying his own team – a comment
