It has been close to a week now since Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. In just the opening minutes of their NFL season, the Jets were left without their franchise quarterback. Now, fans are left wondering where the team goes from here.
The injury to Rodgers has left a gigantic hole in an offense that was built around him. Wide receivers such as Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard have learned to play with Rodgers during training camp and understand his way of playing the game. With all the built-in chemistry gone, the question remains as to how the offense will continue to play going forward.
The man the Jets have to replace Rodgers, Zach Wilson, is a familiar sight in a Jets offense for fans. Wilson is now in his third year with the team and many fans believe that he has not been worthy of the second-overall draft pick the Jets used to get him. The coaching staff has been hoping that bringing in a quarterback of Rodgers’ caliber would give Wilson some much-needed guidance and wisdom.
Rodgers has said since his injury that he will be behind Wilson to help him become a better quarterback and lead the offense. It remains to be seen how well Wilson can absorb Rodgers’ knowledge and improve his game this season.
Another pressing question would be how the injury changes the Jets’ projections for this season. Before the season started, fans believed that this team was talented enough to make a deep run in the playoffs and potentially make a run at the Superbowl. The defense is considered one of the best in the league and the offense under Aaron Rodgers looked to be much improved.
Now that Rodgers is down, it seems as though expectations have shifted on how much success the team will find this season. Further working against the team is that they are playing in one of the toughest divisions in the league this year. Their schedule was already going to be tough even before the Rodgers injury. While the Jets can still reasonably make the playoffs this season, many are still unconvinced that their chances at a Super Bowl run are still there considering the importance of Rodgers in that plan. All of this centers back on how effective Zach Wilson can be throughout the course of the season.
If Wilson turns out not to be the answer to the offense, another question is who would replace him. There have been several names of veteran quarterbacks that the Jets could trade for or sign. The notable names include former MVP Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz, and a long shot would be convincing recently retired Tom Brady to come out of retirement again. While the Brady idea is far-fetched, Carson Wentz seems to be a popular name amongst the Jets faithful to take over the offense if Wilson fails to deliver this season.