Getty New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
There were a few things that bothered Aaron Rodgers while he was watching the New York Jets versus New England Patriots matchup in Week 3.
The thing that bothered him the most was the activity on the Gang Green sideline.
“There was some heated conversation on the sidelines & different things, I think we need to hold our poise a little bit better, really just offensively. We need to not have some of those things happen on the sideline & to be a little better & to be a little better competitors. We need to understand this is part of it. It’s not always going to be pretty, the most important thing is winning,” Rodgers explained on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday September 26.
“There’s been I think too many little side conversations & we just need to grow up a little bit on offense & lock in & do our jobs, everybody, not point fingers at each other. We don’t point fingers at the coaching staff. We don’t point fingers at each other. Just get back to work & get the job done. It’s more the side stuff that I don’t like & I want to see us stick together through the tough times.”
Rodgers’ Leadership Will Be a Welcomed Addition to the Jets
A-Rod tore his Achilles on Monday September 11 and has been away from the team since in recovery and rehab.
During that time there has been a leadership void with the team. Some of those cracks started to show in the middle of the Patriots game in Week 3.
Both running back Michael Carter and wide receiver Garrett Wilson were caught by the television cameras during the game getting into heated conversations on the sideline with either other players or members of the coaching staff.
Rodgers said that kind of stuff needs to stop, and he believes if he was back with the team those sorts of things wouldn’t be happening.
It’s hard to put that onus solely on a guy like Zach Wilson who is only in his third year. Instead, Rodgers seemed to challenge each of his teammates to step up to the plate themselves for the betterment of the team as a whole.
The quarterback hinted at making a return to the Jets sooner rather than later. Head coach Robert Saleh said that should happen in the next week or two, the team is waiting for Rodgers to get cleared for travel.
When he does, Rodgers is expected to trade in his football helmet for a coaching hat to help this team in any way he can through the rest of 2023 despite his injury.
Jets Are Rallying Around Wilson
Despite all the noise on the outside, the Jets both publicly and privately are continuing to rally around Wilson as the team’s quarterback.
Saleh called him the “unquestioned quarterback” on Monday September 25 when speaking with the media.
The team strongly believes that the former BYU product has not been the reason they’re losing games. However, it is fair to wonder when Wilson will start becoming the reason that they’re winning games.
Wilson plays the game’s most important position at quarterback and being a non-factor in a quarterback driven league is severely holding back this Jets team in 2023.
He certainly has the ability to figure it out and we’ve seen it in spurts this season in up tempo situations, but that has to become a more consistent item for Gang Green to realize its goals this season.
Right now, that hasn’t come to fruition, but it’ll have to sooner rather than later or the noise will only grow louder outside the organization for change.