Veteran QB Aaron Rodgers was traded on April 23, 2023 from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets after 18 seasons. The Jets hoped to better their season with Rodgers so they signed him for a three-year, $112.5 million deal that includes a guaranteed $75 million.
For their first game on September 11, 2023, the New York Jets took on the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium with high hopes of a winning season due to their new starting veteran quarterback. However, on the fourth play of the first quarter, Rodgers was sacked by Bills´ defensive end, Leonard Floyd. Because Rodgers was slow to get up, he was carted off the field by medical staff. It was later revealed that he had tore his left achilles tendon, and will be out the rest of the season.
“I’m completely heartbroken and moving through all of the emotions, but deeply touched and humbled by the support and love,” Rodgers wrote on his Instagram.
Zach Wilson, who replaced Rodgers for the remainder of the game, shared his thoughts on Rodger´s injury, “I have so much love for Aaron, so my heart goes out to him. I know he’ll find a way to keep working to get back, but it’s tough. That hurts us as a team.¨
However, Jets´ head coach, Robert Saleh puts his feelings away and looks for the next steps to take for the offense moving forward. “I don’t think there’s anything to say. It sounds cliché, but it’s next man up,” Saleh said.
As one of the most dangerous sports in the world, the NFL is not new to receiving all kinds of injuries each season. 58% of this type of injury occurred during the preseason, and of that percentage, 26% of players did not return to play again. Achilles tendon injuries are common in football. Achilles tendon injuries take 6 to 12 months to recover from, which is not good news regarding the season or career for the 39-year old quarterback.
Due to the loss of Rodgers, will this cause the Jets´ season to crash? Robert Saleh and the rest of the Jets now have back-up QB Zach Wilson to rely on. As a second overall pick in the 2021 draft, he entered his 3rd NFL season.
Wilson´s career stats fall at an estimated 56% completion percentage, with 5,119 yards, 19 TD, 23 INT, with an overall rating of 71.5. It would be wrong to compare his career stats with Rodgers due to the significant number of years Rodgers has played in the NFL compared to Wilson. Wilson´s most played season in his career was in 2021, where he played 13 games.
So, we´ll compare Zach´s 2021 season with Rodgers.´ His completion percentage falls at a whopping 55%, throwing for 2,334 yards, with 9 TD´s, and 11 interceptions. Rodgers´ completion percentage falls at an estimated 70%, with 4,115 yards which is double than what Wilson completed, 37 TD´s, and 4 interceptions.
Overall, it seems most people don’t have high hopes for the backup quarterback besides Saleh. He overlooks the setbacks that can possibly occur after Rodgers’ injury and shows confidence in the backup quarterback, “We’re letting him play football and the play designs and the game plan is one that is for a quarterback we trust,” Saleh said.
Besides this, it seems as if Zach Wilson has been only receiving criticism due to his tragic performances, and has been the highlighted topic of frustrated viewers. According to the New York Post , it will get hard to get past how bad Wilson is, ¨Well, Zach Wilson is bad. Everyone can see that.”
Former NFL offensive lineman had some not-so-great thoughts to say as well, “You’re going to lose the locker room. You’re going to sabotage the culture. You have to get Zach Wilson out of there” Namath tweeted. ESPN’s Mike Greenburg doesn’t feel confident in Wilson either, “The #Jets cannot start Zach Wilson again. It doesn’t matter who. They are going to lose the team. The players all know what the coach and GM obviously don’t – the kid has no business being on an NFL field” he also tweeted.
Overall, many believe as long as Wilson holds the starting QB spot, the Jets season is going to go downhill.
