Getty New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers speaking at a press conference.
Aaron Rodgers wants the New York Jets to retain two key pieces this offseason.
During an appearance on the “Keep Hammering Collective”, Rodgers explained who the secret sauce was last year and why they’re so valuable to the team.
“Last year we had an incredible kicker and punter. Both [are] older guys which I love. Thomas Morstead was our punter and he had a phenomenal season. He is in his late 30s but he takes care of himself incredibly well and was just a weapon for us. With hangtime, with inside the 20 punts, with inside the 10 punts, they were like game-changing plays where he had multiple inside the five in multiple games,” Rodgers said. “Greg Zuerlein, our kicker, [he] had a phenomenal year. I think he only missed two kicks all year. He is just a weapon and he can hit it from anywhere. I mean he hit it from 60 and every kick is a touchback for us. Those are weapons so I’d like to see those guys back for sure.”
I freaking love this!
@AaronRodgers12 gave a s/o to @thomasmorstead & Greg Zuerlein, ‘we have an incredible kicker & punter’ + loves that they’re both older guys that take care of themselves & called Morstead, ‘a weapon for us with hang time, inside the 20 punts, & inside the…
Rodgers Hits the Nail on the Head Ahead of Jets Free Agency
A-Rod has been much maligned during his short time with the Jets for being too involved in the roster construction process.
“Rodgers isn’t the assistant GM,” one AFC general manager told The Athletic. “Joe Douglas is the assistant GM.”
However, this most recent pitch will be well received by the fan base.
The green and white have been in special teams hell the last handful of years going through multiple kickers and punters. Although it seems like the team finally found the answer to its prayers this past season.
Morstead appeared in all 17 games in 2023 and set new career highs at the age of 37 in the middle of season No. 15. He punted the ball 99 times which is the most of his career. The next closest number is 74 punts and that came back in 2012. Not surprisingly he also set a new career high in punting yardage (4,831) which also led the NFL this past season.
Zuerlein finished with a 92.1% conversion rate on his field goal attempts in 2023. That was the third-best mark of his career. He nailed 35 of his 38 attempts. That 35 number is the second-highest of his career and was also second-most in the league in 2023.
Team Insider Delivers Warning to Jets
Brian Costello of the New York Post joined me on “The Boy Green Show” during the NFL Combine.
I asked him why Morstead and Zuerlein haven’t been re-signed already because it seems like a very easy negotiation. From my conversations, both players want to be back, why risk it by letting them hit the open market?
“Good question. I don’t know. There is a process to this whole thing of like getting approval on the money and making sure they [the Jets] have their budget set,” Costello explained. “I would think Zuerlein and Morstead will be done in the next… I would think next week or maybe next weekend before things really heat up but who knows. I said this to someone today, if you guys screw that up and don’t sign those two, it’s going to be the biggest freaking you know what storm. Because you finally got it right at those positions. You can’t screw it up. You gotta get them signed and I think they know that. I think it’ll get done but I’m not sure exactly when.”
We can only hope!
@BrianCoz thinks the #Jets will lock up Greg Zuerlein & @thomasmorstead ‘next week or maybe next weekend before things really heat up.’
‘I said to someone today if you guys screw that one up & don’t sign those two it’s going to be the biggest freaking you…