Getty New York Jets offensive lineman Connor McGovern getting some work in during practice.
Shots fired.
New York Jets starting center Connor McGovern talked about the “180” change that has occurred with the roster and locker room over the last handful of years.
“Yeah, it has been a complete 180. There have been some good players that have left but they have done a really good job of getting rid of the bad apples. There is not a, I don’t know how you want to call it, a cancer or bad apple or somebody rotting the bucket in the locker room. Every single player in the locker room is a good person and a great football player. I think that’s extremely important and to add to that everyone is so talented,” McGovern told the media on Monday September 4.
“When I first got here, we were young, we had some talent here and there, we had some guys that were leaving, coming, and going [but] what Joe Douglas and [Robert] Saleh and their teams have done to get this locker room to where it is now is remarkable. I’m happy to be a part of it, we had some struggles early in my career here but now going into year [No.] 4, it’s the most ironed out team I’ve ever been a part of in my entire 7-year career.”
#Jets OL Connor McGovern said the locker room has done a ‘complete 180’ over the last few years & credited GM Joe Douglas for getting rid of the ‘bad apples’ & ‘cancer’ 😳 🧐 said this is the most ‘ironed out team’ he has ever been a part of 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
Social Media Speculation on Which Jets McGovern Was Referencing
McGovern didn’t name any specific names when he referenced the Jets getting rid of some “bad apples” and some “cancer” but social media tried connecting the dots.
@BoyGreen25 @nyjets I think he’s talking about Jamal Adams
One fan thought he was talking about, “Jamal Adams.”
McGovern joined the Jets on April 2 of 2020 and Adams was traded away that same offseason in July to the Seattle Seahawks right ahead of training camp.
It is possible that the former Jets All-Pro made that kind of impression on McGovern over just a handful of months.
@BoyGreen25 @nyjets Elijah Moore
Another popular fan theory was wide receiver “Elijah Moore.”
The Jets traded the former Ole Miss product this offseason back on March 22 to the Cleveland Browns about a month before the team traded for veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Moore requested a trade during the 2022 season and shared his frustrations on social media with his lack of involvement in the offense. The worst part was all of that came in the middle of a Jets winning streak which rubbed a lot of his teammates the wrong way in the locker room.
@RichCimini Wasn’t a fan of elijah moore and denzel mims id guess
Another fan suggested that wideout Denzel Mims could be one of the people that McGovern was referencing.
Mims was another player under this current regime that requested a trade due to frustration with his role and playing time on the team. Eventually New York acquiesced a year later and dealt him away this offseason to the Detroit Lions. He has since been cut due to injury.
A New Energy on 1 Jets Drive
Regardless of who he was or wasn’t talking about, the best part of McGovern’s quote got lost in the sauce.
He said that this is the most “ironed out” team he has ever been a part of since entering the NFL over seven years ago. They will have to be if they want to ever live up to the incredible hype and massive expectations that lay at their feet ahead of 2023.
The rest of the league is hoping the Jets fail and flop on their face. That is for two primary reasons.
First, they’re the Jets and they have been the league’s punching bag and low hanging fruit for almost the entirety of their existence. It is easy to make fun of the Jets and to make jokes about them. People would like to keep doing that.
Secondly, the Jets have been the talk of the offseason. HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” Every sports television show you watch has a segment on the Jets and their Super Bowl expectations. People don’t like it when things are shoved down their throats and that has happened with Gang Green.
This locker room has to possess an unwavering belief that they can do whatever they want as long as they believe regardless of what people are saying on the outside. If they can do that, they will have a chance. If not, they will be one of the biggest failed experiments of the 21st century.