Aaron Rodgers was brought in to change Jets culture, but has only contributed to its continued erosion
Back in January, Aaron Rodgers stood in front of reporters and emphatically declared that the Jets needed to “flush the bulls--t” and keep the focus on winning football games.
“Anything in this building that we're doing individually or collectively that has nothing to do with real winning needs to be assessed,” Rodgers said shortly after Gang Green finished another losing season.
Perhaps part of that assessment should have included Rodgers looking in the mirror.
When the future Hall of Famer arrived in a blockbuster deal before last season, there was a rejoice from the fanbase that the comical levels of dysfunction within the franchise would be squashed out by a proven winner who wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense. Turns out, Rodgers hasn’t extinguished the rampant drama that has burned through the organization for decades. Instead, he has poured some more gasoline on it.
When Rodgers made his “flush the bulls--t” declaration, he was in the midst of his weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, which became a consistent sideshow every Tuesday afternoon. Rodgers still makes those appearances, as fans tuned in waiting to hear his reaction to the handling of Zach Wilson, what he would say next about Jimmy Kimmel, and eventually, the firing of Robert Saleh. Jets beat reporters would ask Rodgers about his role in off-the-field headlines, like the Kimmel statements, and he would defer to the McAfee Show, stating that his comments would be made there.
Is that “flushing the bulls--t”?
It sounds more like Rodgers stuffing more bulls--t into the Jets toilet and throwing away the plunger.
Rodgers’ contributions to Jets dysfunction has seemingly only intensified in his second season, which has gone down the tubes in the form of a 3-7 record, Saleh’s dismissal, and Nathaniel Hackett’s play calling duties being stripped. All the while, Rodgers has looked like a shell of himself on the field, publicly blamed teammates for botched plays, and yes, continued his Pat McAfee Show appearances. Mike Williams, a wide receiver target brought in to bolster the weapons around Rodgers, was traded after Rodgers called him out for a key miscue in a loss to the Bills on Monday Night Football. A week later, after being traded to an organization with an actual sustained winning culture, Williams hauled in the game-winning touchdown pass for the Steelers and shaded Rodgers on social media afterward.
Meanwhile, Jets youngsters like Sauce Gardner have continued to be active on social media themselves, posting - and then deleting - responses to criticisms about a team that certainly deserves critiques given how this hyped season has gone. Shouldn’t Rodgers - who has a close relationship and his own handshake with Gardner - be expressing to the young cornerback the need to “flush” the outside noise and focus on winning? Given how Rodgers has operated since arriving, would Gardner take such a critique seriously?
Perhaps the signs were there all along that Rodgers wouldn’t be the franchise savior or culture changer that many expected him to be. For one, from a football standpoint, he was traded to the Jets coming off one of his worst NFL seasons, was approaching 40 years old, and openly admitted that he was leaning towards retiring before expressing his desire to play in New York. He then mulled a joining the ticket for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential run. He arrived with a load of past drama and publicly aired grievances from his last team, from criticizing personnel decisions to misleading comments about being “immunized” during the COVID-19 pandemic. His arrival in New York also brought the arrival of former teammates and coaches that were past their prime, as every effort was made to appease a player that seemingly can’t be appeased. Now, the Jets are paying the price.
The Jets were expected to be taken to new heights on the back of Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and undeniably one of the most talented quarterbacks the sport has ever seen. Instead, a long-tortured franchise has somehow found a new low, and rather than being a much-needed solution, Rodgers has become part of the problem, and his words on changing the culture have not been followed up by any kind of action.
Given how his career has gone since 2021, mainly off the field, should we be surprised?
