New York Jets coach Robert Saleh is bullish that the team have become much better this week after receiving a blessing in trading for four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Green Bay Packers received three picks in this year’s draft and a further pick in the 2024 draft for their long-time franchise player. The deal went down last Monday, and Rodgers, 39, is already making his presence felt in the Big Apple.
Last weekend, the veteran quarterback sat courtside at Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of the New York Knicks’ Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the Miami Heat, which the hosts lost 108-101. Rodgers has also been impactful around his new organisation, Saleh stresses.
After giving general manager Joe Douglas, who negotiated the trade, a hug during a post-draft news conference, a smiling Saleh said: "It's been a fun week, a fun week. To get Aaron here, it's a blessing. We got better this week - a lot better this week.
"We're a really, really young team, especially on offense, and just to watch him and Nathaniel [Hackett] and the way they communicate together, he's already made his presence felt with regards to meetings and input, just discussions on all of the different things we're trying to get accomplished on offense."
Hackett is the Jets’ new offensive coordinator, replacing the fired Mike LaFleur. LaFleur is now on the Los Angeles Rams' staff.
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Saleh continued: "He's a tremendous human, first and foremost, Aaron is. Just listening to him, there are little, subtle things I'm not going to get into, but he definitely cares about people, and you can tell in the way he speaks to people. So we're really fortunate that he's here."
The Jets sport the NFL’s longest active playoff drought after finishing bottom of the AFC East with a 7-10 record meant missing out for a 12th straight season. But the addition of Rodgers has catapulted them into postseason contention and a shot at the Super Bowl.
The quarterback previously won Super Bowl 45 with the Packers. Rodgers was named the game’s MVP following the 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With one ring, the new addition has the same amount to his name as the entire franchise have in their history. The Jets’ only Super Bowl came in the 1968 AFL Championship Game, the penultimate season before the AFL-NFL merger, after overcoming the Baltimore Colts, who have since moved to Indianapolis, at the now-demolished Orange Bowl in Miami.
These rising expectations following the trade come before even practising with his new team. Last week only saw him engage in some light throwing during the first phase of the Jets’ off-season program.
Rodgers finished the 2022 season with 3,695 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The latter was his most in a single season since 2008.
