There’s no way around it right now. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers going down with what looks like a season-ending ruptured Achilles after just four snaps absolutely sucks. Before the Jets stormed back for a dramatic overtime win over the Buffalo Bills, the signal-caller’s injury took the wind out of everyone’s sails.
As we sit here on Tuesday morning, we’re just waiting for news that’s expected to be bad. While we do that, it’s a good idea to find some silver lining in it all. As part of the compensation package the Jets sent to the Packers in their trade, there were conditions around what kind of 2024 NFL Draft pick Green Bay would receive.
If Rodgers is indeed lost for the year, the Jets will no longer have to surrender their first-round selection.
The Packers are owed the Jets 2024 first-round pick if Aaron Rodgers plays 65% of the offensive snaps this season. That's essentially 11 of their 17 games. Green Bay gets a second-round pick if the 65% threshold isn't reached, which seems…
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) September 12, 2023
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Is this a good thing for the Jets? I guess it is in the grand scheme of things. But still, just about everyone associated with or who roots for the Jets would gladly give up that first-round pick if it meant getting Rodgers back on the field in 2023.
But if he’s lost for the year, the Jets will hold onto that selection. Plus, they’ll still have the veteran signal-caller for next season. Of course, having a 40-year-old coming back from what everyone is speculating is a ruptured Achilles isn’t an ideal scenario, either.
I know this won’t help Jets fans too much today, and I wasn’t really expecting it to. However, we’re grasping for straws at trying to find positive things to discuss here. Week 1 was supposed to be very exciting with MetLife Stadium hosting not one, but two primetime games. While Gang Green at least won, both fan bases are feeling different levels of depression and disappointment as we head toward Week 2.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
