FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- During the first team session of Saturday’s practice, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had to take off as his protection broke down. The result was a pinpoint sideline completion to Allen Lazard, but it’s probably going to be a while before a Jets fan can watch a play like that and not cringe. Rodgers’ left Achilles tore when protection broke down and he had to scramble just four snaps into the 2023 season. Now, less than 11 months later, here was Rodgers under duress again.
At the start of training camp last week, Rodgers said that the last five percent of being 100 percent back is mental -- i.e., it's the last few things he has to prove to himself he can still do without consequence.
“It’s about four percent now,” Rodgers said Saturday afternoon. “We had a play, the protection broke through, so I had to step up and get out to the right and throw to Allen. It’s one of those things: I came back, took a knee and thought to myself, I didn’t think about that rep that just happened. You have to stack some of those plays to where now you’re just playing and not thinking, Can I do this? When was the last time I’ve done this? How does my leg respond? Those are all good signs.”
Few teams need good signs more urgently than the Jets, who last made the playoffs in the 2010 season -- the longest postseason drought in the NFL. So much about New York is different this year. The roster underwent a strengthening in the offseason. The offensive line was rebuilt, receivers were added, a trade brought Haason Reddick to the pass rush, although he remains absent in pursuit of a new contract. Dynamic running back Breece Hall is healthy.
But the giddiness and crush of attention that accompanied Rodgers’ arrival a year ago has abated. Hard Knocks cameras are elsewhere, and so are the overblown expectations. Nobody here needs reminding of how fragile a season is and how quickly plans can fall apart. But these Jets are also more settled. Rodgers still spends time after each rep coaching up teammates and coaches, but this is an older, more mature group.
“I think everyone is just a little more present,” said defensive lineman Solomon Thomas. “There’s a lot of noise in the New York-New Jersey area, there’s a lot of noise when Hard Knocks is here. We looked too far in the future last year. We were expecting to make playoffs, expecting to make the Super Bowl, instead of taking each day and working for it. The biggest change we made this year: Guys are focused on Day 3, focused on Day 4. Dominate these days to get to where we need to get to. We’re not going to win a Super Bowl right now. We’re focused on being more present -- that way you block out the noise and all the expectations.
“Expectations are beautiful and great, but they can kill you."
Rodgers is looking forward to joint practices the Jets have scheduled against the Commanders, Giants and Panthers for the measuring sticks they will provide, particularly for starters who are unlikely to play in preseason games. He was encouraged on Saturday because Hall pulled him aside to tell him he likes where the running game is right now -- unusual because defenses are generally ahead of offenses this early in camp, and because it is often difficult for running lanes to open before pads are on.
Still, if the Jets are to give their defense a two-score lead -- something Rodgers said they'd love to do -- it will be because of the four-time MVP and his targets. Mike Williams, the receiver New York added this offseason who is recovering from an ACL tear, still looks weeks away from being able to practice. But Rodgers rhapsodizes about Garrett Wilson, the third-year receiver who has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons despite being mired in one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL.
Rodgers said it is hard to throw to Wilson because he is so fast. During one play on Saturday, Rodgers thought he overthrew Wilson, only to realize later that his target actually had been forced to slow down half a step to make the reception. Rodgers believes Wilson is as dynamic a receiver as any he has been around. Now Rodgers is intent on fine-tuning Wilson, encouraging him to work on the details and learn the right way to practice -- the difference-makers that Rodgers thinks will elevate Wilson even further, into the truly elite echelon of the NFL.
Rodgers is also challenging Wilson to be more of a team leader. He and Wilson had an intense back-and-forth on the sideline of Saturday’s practice -- an exchange caught by fan cameras -- before they shook hands. Wilson was noticeably frustrated last season. Nobody could blame him -- New York's quarterbacking situation after Rodgers' injury was a mess, and despite the young wideout's 2023 statistics (95 catches for 1,042 yards and three touchdowns), it was obvious the Jets were not capable of taking full advantage of Wilson’s gifts. After some especially dispiriting games, Wilson appeared so upset he looked to be near tears.
“I don’t want to turn off that passion at all,” Rodgers said. “He has a contagious energy about him. When that passion becomes overly demonstrative, we want to scale it back a little bit. His passion is an asset. I want him to take the next step in leadership. Certain guys on the roster are energy guys that everybody is looking to. For him, he has to realize people are watching him at all times. Now you’re in a position to lead, everybody is watching how your attitude is, how your interactions are.”
The window for all of this to come together -- Rodgers’ health, the rebuilt offensive line, the maturation and ascension of players like Wilson -- is incredibly tight. Rodgers often alludes to being 40 years old, and earlier this month on the Pardon My Take podcast, he said that he didn’t know how much longer he would play. He had initially hoped for two great years with the Jets, with a chance to win two Super Bowls. Last season amounted to a false start on Rodgers’ personal clock, but even with the outside noise turned down, the clock is ticking louder than ever.
“I would say there was a lot of sentiment that last year wasn’t a great year for me,” Rodgers said. “I’d like to still have two great years.”