At the start of last year’s NFL season, there were hopes and excitement about the New York Jets after the acquisition of four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers in April 2023. Then, on the first offensive possession of the Jets’ first game of the season, Rodgers, who will turn 41 in December, ruptured his left Achilles tendon. With the since-departed Zach Wilson (traded to the Denver Broncos this past April), the Jets’ first round pick in 2021 and No. 2 overall pick, lacking the necessities to carry the QB baton, the Jets in short time became a below-average team, finishing 7-10.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh maintained last season was one of battling through what seemed like perpetual adversity.
“To grow in the world, to grow as an individual, you got to live in uncomfortable environments, and I would say last year was one of the more uncomfortable environments that you could create for an organization, and because of it, I think of players, coaches, everybody in this building are better for it and because of it,” Saleh said via Jets.com. “I think the team is better for it and better equipped.”
As they look ahead to the new season, which begins on the road on Monday night against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, the Jets essentially have a do-over with Rodgers.
While much of the focus rightfully will be on the future Pro Football Hall of Famer, other players on both sides of the ball have established themselves among the best in the league at their respective positions. On offense, running back Breece Hall is one of the most versatile offensive players in the league and finished fourth in yards from scrimmage a year ago with 1,585. Entering his third season, he’s poised for an All-Pro campaign because the Jets’ running game will be crucial to their success.
However, for Rodgers and Hall, it all starts up front with the Jets’ offensive line, which has been a source of uncertainty and for too long a weakness, due to injuries and underperformance. As of today, their starting front of John Simpson, Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, Joe Tippman, and Alijah Vera-Tucker is a marked improvement from recent years — at least on paper.
Guard Vera-Tucker has been with the team since being drafted by the Jets in the first round (No. 14) in 2021. Tipmann, a center, was a second-round pick (No. 43) in 2023. Veteran tackles Moses and Smith, the latter a surefire Hall of Famer, and guard Simpson, in his fifth season in the NFL, are in their first season with the franchise.
The defense, led by defensive back Sauce Gardner, the 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time First-Team All-Pro, and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, a 2022 First-Team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection, is expected to be one of the best units in in the league.
