Rodgers News Spark Prescott Debate – Would The Jets Be Interested?

Yes it is the offseason, but more than that it is the completely dead period of the offseason. The draft is over, free agency is over, minicamp and OTAs are in the rear view mirror. Yet preparations for the coming 2024 National Football League season continue at pace for all franchises, and we have already passed some significant, but expected, pre season road markers as we head towards the start of the new season.

One of those annual road markers is mandatory minicamps, and as Jets fans know, the team made headline news as both Aaron Rodgers and Haason Reddick, were no shows and NFL odds probably would not have expected those omissions at this stage of offseason.

Head coach Robert Saleh confirmed the news to reporters moments ahead of the opening practice. He naturally tried to play down any real concerns, particularly as our newly acquired trade deal with the Eagles, Reddick, did also not participate in the voluntary off season program, but many will have felt there was a reason as to why he made a point of the absences being unexcused.

For Reddick, Saleh added that conversations had been had and that he was satisfied with what he had heard, and that he believed the 29 year old was in a ‘really good place mentally’ and had been ‘working his tail off’ but fans will certainly have been wondering why he decided to skip this one.

The Rodgers issue is slightly different, as he was with the team throughout the spring working with the offense, and he was again looking sharp following his return to action after suffering an Achilles tendon tear against the Bills in Week 1 last season.

His surgery was a success obviously, and there has not been a relapse of any kind or an additional injury issue, Saleh simply explained that the 40 year old former Super Bowl champion had an ‘event’ that was ‘very important’ to him, and even though his omission was unexcused, it had all been discussed and communicated.

Whilst Reddick’s decision has led to some talk in the media about his potential motivations, and whether or not it should read into the decision to trade for him in the first place, the reaction from some quarters to the Rodgers news has been a little bit more left field in some ways.

I am not entirely sure what quite sparked this coverage initially, but the educated guess is that it first appeared on social media and then simply gained traction and went viral, but there has been quite a big suggestion of late that the Jets – on the back of this unexcused absence – that we should now move on from Rodgers next off season and pivot to Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott.

And this is where I remind you that this is the height of the offseason, so let the imagination run wild. Real football will be here soon enough.

Multiple differing factors obviously come into play when it comes to this bit of fan led (I assume) speculation. There is obviously Rodgers’ age in play here, and whilst no one doubts the fact the he is now back fit and fighting, it is not unfair for any Jets fan to wonder how closely he may now be thinking about, and considering his, retirement from the game. Especially after all of the Rodgers for VP rumors recently.

His injury last season will also be a factor in the thoughts of many fans. Plenty of top, professional, athletes recover from an Achilles tear, but Jets fans will naturally wonder whether or not age will ultimately impact on his overall recovery. Which in turn also leads fans to wonder whether or not he could again sustain such a serious problem in the immediate future, or even whether, despite his ‘fit and fighting’ status, he may have lost 5% of his best on the back of it.

Of course, this is all pie in the sky thinking and speculation right now and the Jets and Rodgers will have the best idea possible on his fitness and recovery, given all of the time and money that is spent on sports science in the more modern NFL game, but it is only natural to wonder how much longer he does have in the tank given his lengthy and successful career in the game so far, as like many in his position, he has certainly taken some big blows across the years.

Prescott though is an interesting potential pivot. The 30 year old 2016 fourth round Cowboys QB pick has already added a few records and awards to his name since he came into the professional game, but many in the wider world of the NFL continue to believe that he has long been one of the most underrated quarterbacks on the gridiron, and having led the Cowboys to a fair amount of success and consistently put up some big numbers in each year, it is felt that he has often been at the brunt of some very unfair, unwarranted, hate and criticism.

As Jets fans know, the main criticism mostly always centers around what is a valid complaint to his game, that he has been unable to get Dallas over the hump in the playoffs which is a trait that the greatest of quarterbacks need. However, it is a criticism that also falls down based on the fact that he cannot truly be responsible for all of the losses that they have suffered down the years, as it is a team sport.

With Rodgers turning 41 before the turn of the end of the year, there had already been a drop in his production which would suggest age was slowly catching up on him, and it arguably led to the trade in the first place, so with Prescott still having time to develop areas of his game more and being in the prime of his career at this point, looking to him as the main man for 2025 onwards is not actually a bad shout, and if Rodgers decided to call it quits after this season, maybe Prescott would be considered. The cap ramifications would be tough to swallow, but it is the offseason so one can dream.

Steve Johnson

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