The Jets are officially retaining Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh; they are expected to keep OC Nathaniel Hackett as well. Jets decision to run back this trio would not go over well with a notable sect of the fanbase. The team is riding the longest playoff drought in major North American sports, but ownership is prepared to give the group a pass after Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear sank this season.
With Rodgers having what certainly appears to be considerable say in the Jets’ decision-making, it should then be expected the team will listen to him regarding 2024 personnel moves. Already pegged as being prepared to pursue Davante Adams in 2024, the Jets look certain to make a genuine pursuit to reunite Rodgers with his former No. 1 Packers target. The Raiders wide receiver appears on Rodgers’ 2024 watch list, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes.
[RELATED: Jets Keeping GM Joe Douglas, HC Robert Saleh]
Rodgers’ 2023 wish list should probably give the Jets pause about more acquisitions driven by their quarterback. Allen Lazard went from signing an $11MM-per-year contract (with $22MM fully guaranteed, most among free agent wideouts this offseason) to being a healthy scratch for a game this season. After producing a career-high 788 receiving yards with the 2022 Packers, Lazard has 311 this season. Randall Cobb has four catches this season, and Dalvin Cook‘s $7MM contract has produced little. But an Adams addition would present a much higher floor.
The Raiders also continue to be linked to considering a trade. With the power brokers that signed off on the Adams trade (Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler) gone, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano indicates there is a strong chance either the Raiders or Adams determines by the 2024 offseason this partnership should end after two years.
Adams, who turns 31 today, is 32 yards away from his fifth 1,000-yard season. A first-team All-Pro three years running, Adams has taken a step back this season. Voicing frustration about his role in the Raiders’ offense this year, Adams will likely finish well shy of his 1,516-yard 2022 showing in Las Vegas. With the Raiders closer to rebuilding after the ousters of McDaniels, Ziegler and OC Mick Lombardi, Adams could well be traded for the second time in three years.
It would cost the Raiders $23.6MM in dead money to trade Adams before June 1 of next year. Though new regimes are not as concerned with accumulating dead money associated with players previous staffs brought in, Champ Kelly is firmly on the radar to be retained as the Raiders’ full-time GM. Kelly was in place as assistant GM when the Raiders traded first- and second-round picks for Adams in March 2022. While Adams remains a high-end wideout, it would likely not cost as much for the Jets to pry him from the Raiders as it did for Las Vegas to obtain the then-franchise-tagged target.
More Packers may be on Rodgers’ 2024 list as well. The quarterback is a strong Aaron Jones backer, Cimini adds, and his friendship with David Bakhtiari is well documented. The Packers will likely release Bakhtiari after another injury-abbreviated season. The Jets need help at tackle and were briefly linked to a Bakhtiari pursuit this summer, but the 32-year-old blocker’s injury trouble since his New Year’s Eve 2020 ACL tear will limit his market.
It is unclear if the Packers will jettison Jones, though they would be tagged with barely $5MM in dead money if they designated the talented veteran as a post-June 1 cut. Jones joined Adams in being one of the Packers’ best skill-position players during Rodgers’ tenure, but he remains valuable to the team. Though, one season remains on Jones’ reworked contract. And the Packers pivoted heavily toward a youth movement in the wake of the Rodgers trade. AJ Dillon is unsigned for 2024. With Cook almost definitely not coming back and Michael Carter being waived recently, the Jets will be looking for a new Breece Hall backup.
Rodgers’ influence and importance to the Jets may lead to a significant say in 2024 personnel moves, but he is officially shut down for the 2023 season. His comeback from September Achilles surgery falling short still led to the Jets using an IR activation. Rodgers is believed to have resisted such a move, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, since he now takes up a roster spot despite not factoring into the team’s gameday plans. Douglas and Saleh made the push to activate Rodgers so he can continue practicing.
If Aaron Rodgers wants all the old Packers…..why didn’t he just stay on the Packers?
It would have helped him sooo much this year.
The title here is funny-Rodgers is eyeing the trade, is he?
I actually don’t think that Douglas is a bad GM, he just felt compelled to select a QB and Wilson was there. He built the rest of the roster mostly well, though he hasn’t been able to solidify the line, despite a few attempts (Vera-Tucker was a success, which is a positive mark). The manner in which the Rodgers experiment failed I don’t think was necessarily predictable, and still has time to pan out. Wilson remains Douglas’ obvious blunder as either a backup or a starter, but that’s an area that could probably be improved in an offseason. Douglas and Saleh have a makeable chance to turn this around, but they need to address their line and have a much better backup plan for the scenario that their aged star QB doesn’t pan out.
As far as Adams goes, he’d be a great addition no matter who starts. The Jets need a reliable target outside of Wilson. I’d be hesitant to see how the acquisitions of other ex-Packers go, however. I’m not sure how many other than Adams would be worth the price who would be available. Bakhtiari’s injuries make me wary, as he’s had a lot of games missed after an impressive career. Would he solve a need? Absolutely. Would he be more motivated to compete with Rodgers after some veiled frustration in Green Bay? Probably. But would he play enough to be worth the investment? Dillon and Jones could be good complementary backs, but it seems like the Jets already have that. They could be nice additions, but I don’t know how necessary they are. The Jets should be careful of simply borrowing another set of players en masse, too, instead of finding their own players. Too many ex -Packers will make the team seem rented and make it harder to make this a longer lasting tradition of success, as opposed to a Bucs-style rent a team contender that falls apart after a year or two.
Remember when he complained a few years ago about the Packers not resigning a bunch of washed up guys?
The Jets are insane to bow to this guys ego.
Im here for it.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
What Erin wants, Erin gets.
He’s become a Karen Rodgers this year being in the news so much acting like he’s in charge of everything there.
That’s because he is. The Jets have no clue what they’re doing, and they’re going Rodgers does.
Well Rodgers doesn’t know what he is doing either. The only thing is that he is lining his bodies pockets.
Not sure how the GM and coach aren’t to blame for this year. They are the ones that put a near 40 year old QB behind an atrocious O-line
I mean that’s not so much on the coach, he can only play the players that he has
A torn achilles is a non contact injury. There isn’t an offensive line out there that can make sure a quarterback doesn’t have to move
Ha ha Jets are such fools!
Why would the Jets give up more future assets to try to keep a 40 year old coming off a torn Achilles happy? Come back, prove you’re still a great QB and if the team is in the hunt at the trade deadline then go get Adams.
Because he’s all they’ve got.
So further mortgage the future for a guy who might not be a difference maker at 40 coming off a serious injury. Feels like some serious sunk cost fallacy.
He doesn’t care about their future, he’s there for one, maybe two more seasons at the most. After he’s gone he doesn’t give a damn what shape the team is in
You expect the Jets to use logic?
And when they go 8-9 next year who’ll take the blame? Surely all the coaches will be fired. poor poor Erin
No one makes it harder to be a Jets fan than Jets management.
Exactly how many Super Bowls did Rodgers win with all of these former and present GB players, who are now older, during their years together in Green Bay? For that matter, how many playoff games did they win at Lambeau with this offensive crew? My guess is that Rodgers is looking for 1) a short-term solution in which he doesn’t have to learn anything new or do anything new, just do the same old thing with a bunch of aging has-beens or soon-to-be has-beens; and 2) is setting up his excuses for next year when things don’t go well (“Oh if we only could have gotten X”, or “It was Y’s fault for dropping all of those passes, certainly not me!”). NYJs: you were fools to go down this path rather than build a team from the bottom up, like GB has done these many years.
You take away credit from Green Bay and then give it to them in the same breath. Green Bay didn’t field a Super Bowl winner without Rodgers either, and that happened over a decade ago. Somehow they managed to not do so despite four MVP seasons from their starter. If you can’t assemble a championship winner with an MVP QB, maybe it’s your team that has an issue.
I also chuckle at the idea of Rodgers acting as GM, but be serious.
Apparently Bill Belichick isn’t the only person in the NFL searching for a DeLorean so he can go back to the future.
Now that’s funny.
I can’t wait for Mike Florio to plagiarize it from you this off season.
“Jordy Nelson looking at coming out of retirement, will sign with the New York Jets next year”
Best reply.
Bahk’s knee is toast so good luck with that.
Rodgers is GM now?
LOL
What could go wrong?
Devon not going anywhere he a raider for life
Maybe Devon is, Davante isn’t. He’ll be traded in the offseason
Agree. A 1st round pick will be more valuable to a rebuilding LB team.
It’s what losing franchises do
If Karen was as good of a GM as she thinks she is, she would recruit an offensive line, not a WR…
Need more ol packers, anything to please princess
All the guys Karen Rodgerscwants couldn’t win in Green Bay so why does he think they can win it all now? Take Bakhtiari…….PLEASE