A season that had so much promise for the New York Jets was quickly derailed. Their big splash of the offseason, acquiring future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers, went according to plan for all of four plays.
It was on the fourth play of Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills that Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury. An MRI on Monday confirmed the Jets’ belief of a serious injury as he was diagnosed with a torn Achilles.
That will end his 2023 season, and potentially career, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. With Rodgers sidelined, the team will now turn back to 2021 No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson to take over the offense.
This is a worst-case scenario for the Jets, who had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season. Those aspirations weren’t misplaced after seeing how well their defense performed against Josh Allen and the Bills on Monday night.
Attention will now turn to free agency, where the Jets will likely add at least one quarterback. Wilson was the only other player at the position on the 53-man roster and Tim Boyle is the only quarterback on the practice squad. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentioned five players that the Jets could look to bring in.
Joe Flacco makes a lot of sense since he spent the last three seasons in New York and knows the organization. He performed admirably last season when pressed into duty and would provide the team with a veteran presence.
Nick Foles was a disaster with the Indianapolis Colts last season, as was Matt Ryan. It would be hard to imagine the Jets would turn to either of them over Flacco. It would make for some crazy headlines if Tom Brady came back to play for the Jets, but that seems the least likely of Fowler’s options.
Carson Wentz is the most intriguing option. He is by far the youngest option mentioned and presents the most upside to the Jets. While he has fallen short when the Colts and Washington Commanders have needed him most, his 9-8 campaign with Indianapolis in 2021 is the most success any of the aforementioned options have had in recent years.
