With Aaron Rodgers officially aboard the flight, the New York Jets offense could soar into the 2023 campaign. The biggest lingering question is whether dynamic running back Breece Hall will be ready for takeoff.
An Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate before tearing his ACL in October, Hall is the type of game-changing weapon out of the backfield who could make Rodgers’ life much easier.
General manager Joe Douglas told Pro Football Talk last week that Hall remains on track in rehab, but the club could curtail some offseason work to ensure the running back doesn’t get too far over his skis.
“Look, I think we’re all hopeful that that could be a possibility,” Douglas said when asked if Hall could be ready for Week 1. “There’s still a lot of meat on the bone in terms of his return-to-play protocols and his rehab. He’s in a great place right now. I would say he’s ahead of schedule from where he’s supposed to be and he’s hitting unbelievable top-end speeds already on our GPS and his rehab.
“So I know he’s going to be chomping at the bit to get on the field early. So we’re gonna have to do a good job of protecting him against himself a little bit because he’s so motivated, so hungry, and attacking rehab the way he is. So we’re gonna see. We have very detailed checkpoints for Breece to hit in his rehab and we’re gonna follow that to a ‘T’ because I think we all saw last year the weapon that he can be with the ball in his hands.”
Hall rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns on 80 carries and added 218 receiving yards on 19 catches with a score in seven games before the ACL tear wiped out his season. The knee injury sapped Gang Green of its most dynamic playmaker and started a hasty 2022 descent from a plucky upstart 5-2 record into a tail-spinning 2-8 finish.
If he’s healthy, Hall provides Rodgers a sidecar with game-breaking ability. The question is when he’ll be ready and whether he’ll be fully recovered or if it will take a season-plus to get back to his pre-injury status -- like we saw Saquon Barkley take longer than a year to get back to form.