Aaron Rodgers now owns the New York Jets.
Technically it is still Woody Johnson’s team. Sorry, Ambassador Johnson’s team. That’s in name only, though. If there were any doubts that Rodgers is the one actually running the team, they’ve been dispelled.
A week after firing Robert Saleh, the Jets completed Rodgers’ wish list by trading for Davante Adams on Tuesday. That brings to 10 the number of former Green Bay Packers the Jets have brought in to make their quarterback feel at home.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and wide receiver Allen Lazard are still with the Jets. Last year, backup QB Tim Boyle, receivers Randall Cobb and Malik Taylor, safety Adrian Amos, and offensive linemen Jake Hanson, Dennis Kelly and Billy Turner joined Rodgers in making the move from Green Bay to New York.
Heck, there’s probably a David Bakhtiari jersey somewhere in the Jets’ equipment room, too, just in case his knees allow him to play again.
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But in giving Rodgers all the toys he wants, the Jets took away all his excuses.
It won’t be the Jets who are blamed if their season continues to crater. They’re a woeful franchise with an NFL-worst 13-year playoff drought, and the only thing they excel at more than losing is making bad decisions. Zach Wilson, am I right?
Rodgers is a four-time MVP and Super Bowl champion. In 16 years as a starter, he only missed the playoffs twice when he was healthy. The Jets believe him to be the answer to their decades of futility, their modern-day Joe Namath.
And that was before they let Rodgers dictate the roster.
“Salvageable? We’re going to kick — you can add the words in,” Johnson said at the NFL owners meeting in Atlanta. “We’re going to do really well.”
Rodgers had better make sure of it. Because if the Jets can’t win after making every accommodation for their quarterback, if they squander what some thought could be a Super Bowl season, it’s going to be on him.
Not the offensive line, which the Jets rebuilt in the off-season. Not the run game or the defense, both of which have been adequate. Rodgers.
You want to call the shots? You better be ready to answer for them.
Bringing Adams in isn’t a bad move for the Jets, whose anemic offense is a big part of the reason they’ve dropped to third in the AFC East after Monday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Adams was Rodgers’ favorite target with the Green Bay Packers for a reason, with 73 touchdowns and 8,121 yards receiving. He led the NFL with a career-high 18 touchdowns in 2020, and his reception rate in Green Bay was 66%.
The Las Vegas Raiders are a hot mess, yet Adams was still productive there. He led the league with 14 TDs in 2022, and he had 1,000-yard seasons in each of his first two years. When he let it be known he wanted out of Las Vegas, teams were lining up to woo him.
“I think anybody would be interested,” Johnson said.
The Jets most of all. And because what Rodgers wants the Jets make sure that he gets, Adams was in New York early Tuesday and is expected to play Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Obviously I’m really excited,” Rodgers said during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “I love Tae. He’s a phenomenal player and a dear friend.”
That the Jets want to keep Rodgers happy is understandable. He’s their path back to respectability.
He also holds grudges like few others, and the Jets need him to feel appreciated and listened to for this to work. If that means giving him control of the roster, it’s a small price to pay.
So long as it works.
Whatever excuses Rodgers had are gone. He got what he wanted and now he has to deliver.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
