The Jets’ 2023 season will come down to a simple question: Is “8” enough?
The organization went all in this offseason when they traded for legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will be wearing No. 8 for the Jets, in the hope that he will be the missing piece of their Super Bowl puzzle.
That journey to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas will begin in earnest Thursday when the Jets open training camp in Florham Park, N.J., with Rodgers as the main attraction.
All eyes will be on the former Packers star as the Jets take the field, and those eyes probably won’t drift off him until the season is over.
Rodgers has not shied away from the expectations.
If anything, he has fueled them.
“I grew up watching old VHS tapes of the Super Bowls, and so, obviously, I know about ‘the guarantee’ and Broadway Joe,” Rodgers said at his introductory press conference of franchise icon and Super Bowl III MVP Joe Namath. “It’s been a while since then. I noticed walking in this morning that the Super Bowl III trophy is looking a little lonely.”
Rodgers was a major presence during the spring program.
He missed a few practices with a minor calf injury, but he remained in New Jersey, and players raved about how engaged he was in the meeting rooms and on the field.
You’d have to go back to Brett Favre’s arrival in August 2008 to find a new arrival who has energized the team and its fans as Rodgers has.
His new teammates gushed about the quarterback.
“He makes it different,” guard Laken Tomlinson said. “He makes it different with his confidence. He makes it different with his communication.
“He makes it different with his high level of play. Having all that mesh into that position, it’s truly special working with someone of that caliber. He makes everyone be on their A-game every day.”
The Jets will enter camp with the presence of “Hard Knocks” cameras as a looming distraction, but they avoided another potential distraction when they took care of a big piece of business this past week by signing star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a four-year, $96 million deal.
The Jets hope that Rodgers can elevate a team that lost its final six games and finished 7-10 last season, into a contender in the AFC East and for the Lombardi Trophy.
The Jets will enter the 2023 season riding a 12-year playoff drought, the longest in North American sports.
They have not had a winning season since 2015.
The organization and fan base are starved for success.
The 2022 team had one of the best defenses in the NFL, finishing No. 4 overall.
Rookies Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall gave the team reason to believe the future looked bright.
General manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh did not hesitate to make the move for Rodgers after dismal quarterback play from Zach Wilson held the Jets back last season.
Saleh is not one to make Super Bowl predictions, but he has embraced Rodgers making everyone in the organization dream big.
“The reality is, yeah, we all want to win a world championship,” Saleh said. “We have long-term goals, but what are you doing in the interim? What are you doing today to prepare you or to get you moving towards your long-term goals? [Rodgers is] one of those guys that has that discipline, he understands that, ‘Yes, this is what I want, but this is what I need to do today.’ If you have that and you can keep that in perspective, I think you’re fine being able to drift off every once in a while.”
The Jets will be the first team to open training camp in the NFL this season because they are playing in the Hall of Fame game against the Browns on Aug. 3.
Their training camp also will feature joint practices with the Panthers in South Carolina and the Buccaneers in New Jersey.
Don’t expect Rodgers to play in any preseason games, but he’ll get plenty of work in practice, and his mission is clear.
“There’s something special about playing in the city, for a team like this with a storied franchise,” Rodgers said. “Going way, way back to Super Bowl III, to be a part of something special would definitely help you go down in the history of our organization. Already have 18 years in an incredibly iconic organization and it would be fun to be a part of the history of this one, as well.”
Jets depth chart
Offense
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Zach Wilson
RB: Breece Hall, Michael Carter
WR: Garrett Wilson, Denzel Mims
WR: Allen Lazard, Corey Davis
WR: Mecole Hardman, Randall Cobb
TE: Tyler Conklin, C.J. Uzomah
LT: Duane Brown, Max Mitchell
LG: Laken Tomlinson, Wes Schweitzer
C: Connor McGovern, Joe Tippmann
RG: Alijah Vera-Tucker, Trystan Colon
RT: Mekhi Becton, Billy Turner
Defense
DE: Carl Lawson, Jermaine Johnson
DT: Quinnen Willliams, Quinton Jefferson
DT: Al Woods, Solomon Thomas
DE: John Franklin-Myers, Will McDonald
LB: C.J. Mosley, Jamien Sherwood
LB: Quincy Williams, Zaire Barnes
CB: Sauce Gardner, Bryce Hall
CB: D.J. Reed, Brandin Echols
Nickel: Michael Carter II, Javelin Guidry
S: Jordan Whitehead, Ashtyn Davis
S: Adrian Amos, Tony Adams
Special teams
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Thomas Morstead
KR: Mecole Hardman
PR: Mecole Hardman
LS: Thomas Hennessy
